


A Palette Full Of You

by Monobear (Popuko), squek



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adorkable, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Cute, F/F, F/M, Female Frisk, M/M, Roleplay Logs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-11 17:06:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 73,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5634952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Popuko/pseuds/Monobear, https://archiveofourown.org/users/squek/pseuds/squek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only-slightly-awkward story of two soulmates who couldn't be less compatible...yet work together surprisingly well anyway.  Taken from an RP - Sans/Flowey humanized! Based around the 'colorblind - seeing in color' soulmate AU that's been circling around tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Not-So-Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Yeah, I guess you're right.   
> Me and you -who am I kidding?   
> I know too well that I'm   
> Just wasting precious time   
> In thinking such a thing could be   
> That you could ever care for me.   
> I'm sure you hate to hear   
> That I adore you, dear,   
> But grant me, just the same,   
> I'm not entirely to blame, for...   
> You'd be so easy to love.'

Papyrus hadn't given him much warning as to what was going to happen today, just 'BROTHER! I'VE MADE A NEW FRIEND AND I WANT HIM TO COME OVER! THAT'S ALRIGHT, ISN'T IT?' He'd said yeah, sure. Papyrus making new friends was always good, considering his brother's habit of befriending everyone - and hey, at least they were presumably willing to come, enough for him to ask about it. So why not.

Sans sat on the couch, flipping through TV channels while he waited for his brother and whoever he'd brought along with him to arrive. Reality show, kids cartoon, boring, boring--ooh, Comedy Central stand-up special! How did he miss this being on? Good thing he'd found it when it was only a 1/4th of the way through.

He looked around, and the scenery was still a dreary black-and-white as always. Papyrus had gotten lucky a few weeks ago and found that he now had color vision - from who, he wasn't certain, but he was sure he'd find out! Sans halfway suspected who'd caused it, but it wasn't a concern...though he was a bit envious, in a way, and wondered exactly how colors looked. Apparently the jacket he always wore was blue, according to Papyrus, and he'd tried to describe it...but it was hard to describe, and Sans had assured him that he kind of understood. That was good enough.

Sans glanced over, hearing the door open. "BROTHER! I'M HOME! AND I BROUGHT COMPANY!" Papyrus called. Sans yawned a bit, and got up, walking over to greet them.

"hey, what's up?" He said, his eyes closed from his lack of sleep - honestly, he thought he might tumble over at any time...then again, he always felt like that...and then he opened his eyes, and... The first thing he noticed was that the scarf his brother always wore wasn't black, but a brilliant red. _Oh no._

Flowey had seen some chumps in his time. Brainless, shambling losers who weren't particularly good for anything-- besides benefitting him and not thinking twice about it, of course. That's about all they were useful for, really.

And, Papyrus? Oh, this big-hearted giant was the biggest chump he'd ever met.

All it took was a conversation when he'd run into him, biting back a harsh comment as the other insisted his apologies. A friendly tone was given, a big, cheeky smile was flashed the guy's way, and before he knew it, BAM. The lummox practically described him as one of his best friends, with barely any work coming from Flowey's side: favors started rolling in, the free food, hell, even help with classwork if he needed it! Papyrus was a boundless supply of high-spirits and an easy ride through things, as long as he kept himself leeched to the guy's so-called "friendship."

Of course, freeloading /did/ come with it's complications. He couldn't just get rid of the guy when he wanted alone time and didn't have an excuse to send him off. He wanted him to meet all these /other/ friends of his. Eugh, and the invitations to game nights he kept having to shoot down were ridiculous. It all passed by easily enough, until there was one plea to hang out that Flowey just couldn't refuse.

Besides, he might as well throw Papyrus some time here and there, right? To /really/ seal in that whole "we're best friends" idea in the bone-head's mind.

The trip hadn't taken all that long, curious eyes taking in scenery of grey sidewalks and grim skies as the other babbled on about nothing in particular, his hands finding their way into his pants pockets. After something that'd happened just a while back, he'd been gifted with colors in his vision, and refused to stop going on about them. If Flowey weren't so jealous, he'd probably try to shut him up, but he'd tolerate the excited rambling, just to hear about what it was like.

The short trip up some stairs were taken, and with a grandiose wave that would've had Flowey rolling his eyes, had he not been being stared right at, the door was pushed open, and he was invited into the other's home. There'd been a tentative peek inside, before he trudged his way in, thankfully out of the chilled air outside. Or... he'd been thankful, anyways, until a blink of dry eyes gave way to something that he hadn't expected, and made him feel as though his heart had all but stopped.

Colors. The room was so goddamn /colorful./ His mouth fell agape, his posture faltering slowly as he took it all in, something akin to pure wonder taking over his facial features as he looked around. Even the hints of a smile came to the edges of his lips. That was, until he laid eyes on some slacker, half-awake on the couch. Any hint of a smile was wiped off his face, Papyrus's excited chattering going to no one in particular as he stared at the other. He couldn't even bring himself to speak, for once. Of all the people, the /billions/ on the planet, why did it have to be /this guy?/

Well then. Sans wasn't exactly content with this selection, either. Looking at Papyrus' new friend, he was...probably only an inch shorter than Sans himself was, blonde, naturally cute, and he'd almost smiled which was kinda adorable until he presumably realized what had happened and now looked...kinda upset. Sans just grinned in return, looking more than amused as he'd gotten up and stood next to the door as they walked in and Papyrus shut the door behind them.

"welp. nice to meet ya. i'm sans, pap's older brother." He extended a hand to the blonde. "ya got a name, buddy?" No doubt that Papyrus had babbled on and on about him before, so the introduction was almost unneeded, but hey. May as well be polite if this guy was his soulmate, of all things. And honestly, he was surprised. Sans had hoped that his soulmate would've been...some kind of hot, slightly older woman - and despite his encounter making friends with someone who fit the bill exactly, that wasn't the case in the slightest. She'd already been seeing in color for a while, actually! ...That was disappointing.

Instead, it was...this guy, who didn't fit his idea of an ideal soulmate in the slightest. Hell, he had no idea he was even really into guys - but yeah, he was cute, and he was open to the idea. So...why not? Clearly, the other male didn't share the ideal of 'short brunette with sense of humor' being his ideal soulmate, either and he couldn't exactly blame him...

But it was what they had to work with.

Okay. Okay, things could be going worse. Sure, he's been using this guy's brother for a solid couple of months. Sure, he didn't exactly plan on stopping, either. But, at least he hadn't... planned on killing Papyrus, or some kind of heinous crime along those lines? No. That would've made things way, way worse. This wasn't even the worst-case scenario. He could work with this, probably.

It wasn't like he had a choice, anyways. He had to /try,/ didn't he?

"Gee, you're Sans? I've heard a lot about you." Come on, Flowey, get with the program. Friendly routine. Bright and cheery, he could do this. He swallowed the lump he hadn't noticed the formation of in his throat, letting out a breath and shaking the other's hand, a worried glance being taken back to Papyrus before he fought to get himself together. It was one thing, holding appearances in front of people you were probably going to toss to the curb once you were done with them, but this? This was a whole new story.

"The name's Flowey!" The hand he held was given a shake, one that was probably more tentative than he would've liked it to be, a chuckle being given before he looked back to the younger of the two, as he now knew him. "Golly, Papyrus, now-- what exactly were these, uh... 'Plans' you had for us?" Was it obvious he was trying to bail from the situation, before he had to face this guy and talk about the undeniable fact that they'd just brought color back to one another's eyes. Now wasn't exactly the most opportune time for that. "I didn't think these were gonna be 'group activity' sort'a plans, buddy. Really wish you would've filled me in on that."

Papyrus had glanced between the two - and although the taller boy was relatively oblivious - he wasn't completely stupid, and on top of that, Flowey's mildly worried glance had to mean something--oh! He asked about the plans, right! Papyrus smiled cheerfully. "IT'S ALRIGHT! SANS IS HERE MOST OF THE TIME, ANYWAY! AND HE'S ALMOST AS COOL AS I AM, SO EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T EXPECT IT, WE CAN ALL TOTALLY GET ALONG! LET ME GO GET THE GAMES FROM MY ROOM!" Sans could totally handle this, whatever it was, since it seemed to start when they'd arrived.

The older sibling snickered, putting his hands in his pockets. Clearly, Papyrus had been the first to bail. Too late, Flowey. "so." Sans wasn't quite sure what to say in this situation, but it was all out in the air now. "it's nice to finally understand what colors are really like, huh?" That was the most easy way to say 'hey, so that just happened to me, and i'm assuming it happened to you'. "hope you're not too disappointed by the surprise." He winked, keeping his usual nonchalant grin.

Something was...definitely off about his new soulmate. Sans had a particular way of telling when people were faking things - like a poker player seeing tells - and there were a few signs that no person could say 'golly' without them either being part of a creepy cult trying too hard to be normal...or it being some sort of act to disguise faults in their personality. Hopefully it wasn't the former. Sans was not prepared to join a cult. Not happening.

Before Flowey even had a chance to protest, or even so much as give the starts of a denial to Papyrus rushing off, there he went. Lucky him. Things were /really/ going /wonderfully./ If it didn't dawn on him by the "so" breaking the silence, to, he probably would've muttered something horrible and bitter under his breath. But, there wasn't any time for that. Instead, he had to face what he could only deem as an ever-grinning weirdo--

No, nope. Slow down, Flowey. Sure, he's got to be some new kind of genuinely infuriating, especially if he's related to Papyrus, but he needed to think /positive./

This was going to be the most difficult thing he's ever done.

"They really are something else, I'll admit. Who knew seeing in color would be so much to take in, all of a sudden?" He flashed a smile back the other's way, lifting a hand to push some of his wild blonde locks off to the side, a nervous habit that kept his hands moving. "Gosh, haha. I... wasn't expecting it, that's for sure! You're taking all this news awfully well, aren't you?"

Yep, things are going great. Absolutely great. The guy still hadn't dropped the act yet - well, to be fair, they were both putting up an act, and Flowey had been the first to point out that Sans was at least keeping the appearance up of him taking this news pretty well.

"well, i wasn't expecting it either, but hey, i'm not gonna put up too much of a fight against fate. if that's how it is, then that's how it is." He shrugged. "you can drop the cute-and-sweet act, by the way. you're overdoing it just a bit, and pap can't notice from here. plus, with things as they are...i imagine that it'll be difficult to keep the golly, oh shucks, i'm just delighted to be here shtick going for the rest of your life." He said nonchalantly, hopping back onto the couch. "we both know that we're not entirely happy with this. may as well let out the frustration now."

Unlike Sans, who kept his emotions bottled up so tight that no one could pick out the entire spectrum of his act by now. Even if he dropped the smile, it was still a tossup whether he was horribly depressed, angry at everything, or simply just very content. No one had managed to break through that yet, and knowing Sans, he'd make sure no one ever did.

Fate. Right. For some reason, Flowey almost forgot about that cursed word. Things had to go /all/ according to some kind of sick set-up that he had no say in, whether he liked it or not.

And, this time? Part of that sick set-up was apparently some guy who could see right through his pleasant little ruse.

"What? Come on, buddy, I don't know what you're--" He started to defend himself, some part of him worried that he'd been picked apart so easily, when it hit him: why should he care if THIS GUY sees through his facade? Sans wasn't a part of the routine, and as long as he had Papyrus pretty convinced of it, even a brother wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. He had a way with words, after all, and a trick up his sleeve to weasel his way out of just about any wary feelings on the legitimacy of his kindness.

The cheery smile dropped to something a little more sarcastic and smug, brows lifted in what could only be deemed as pure amusement. "Man, you know what? I gotta say, that's a HUGE relief. If I had to say 'gee' one more time while he's off to go get those games, I was going to lose my mind."

There was a moment of thought, before he made his way over to the couch, making sure he took the opposite end to settle against to Sans' own. "So, now, I've gotta ask-- what's /your/ deal, huh? Unless you're all sunshine and rainbows like the big guy up there. You and I both know that's not how it is, though, don't we?"

Aha, he knew it. Of course. The blonde had hesitated a bit in dropping the act, but there it was - sarcastic, smug, just as he'd figured. Good. That was more tolerable. And then he asked what Sans deal was, and he couldn't help but snicker. "me? i don't exactly /have/ a deal, but yeah, no, i'm not as optimistic and innocent as my brother. we're the different ends of the spectrum on that, not that he knows."

Which probably explained a lot with his usual 'I've given up' nature. Because for the most part, he had, somewhere around the point in his life where he'd started taking care of Papyrus on his own - maybe even before that, when his father had pretty much sunk himself into his scientific work in stress, and he'd eventually lost contact with the man altogether. Just having the last name 'Gaster' was an unpleasant reminder - and only contributed to his cynical view of the world.

That was the most he could admit to. Sure, there were even more darker thoughts in his mind than just being cynical, but it wasn't as though he'd ever admit to them, not when Papyrus could return at any minute. It was enough admitting that the incredibly fake grin that Papyrus never seemed to see through was, indeed, incredibly fake. "and he's not going to ever know. i'm guessing that goes for both of us. and hey, as long as you don't manipulate or use him, i don't think he'll ever notice that you're faking it."

Somehow, the fact that the lazed, ever-cheery look was all a charade with the other didn't entirely come as a surprise, somehow. Maybe it was the exhausted look in his eyes, or the general feeling of the consistent smile, but he had the faintest hunch about it. Not that he'd say anything about it, of course-- he wasn't one to pry at times when he didn't have long enough to dig as deep as he'd like to, and Papyrus would be back soon enough with those games, wouldn't he?

"You're right about that. Kind of." Flowey took a moment to stretch out, to make himself comfortable, before tossing Sans another look. "Not that I'm getting at anything in particular, but I don't know if you've noticed-- he's a sweet guy and all, buddy, but your brother? He's an /idiot./ I've slipped up a couple times in this awful happy-go-lucky schtick, and he never once noticed a single thing!"

Another shift, and he took to crossing his legs beneath him, extending an arm and tearing his gaze away from Sans. This time, in favor of his newly-colored green shirt, that he looked over as if it were the most interesting thing he'd seen in a long while. Which, in all actuality, it kind of was. So far, if he had to pick a color, he'd definitely have to say that green was one of his favorites. "Now, before you get huffy at me or anything-- there's nothing wrong with that! Sometimes, some people are just stuck being stupid, and that's okay. The guy's so innocent, it's probably better to knock his observance down just a little bit, isn't it?"

....Okay, calling his brother an idiot was one really really good way to get onto Sans' bad side. But he tried to let it go. Keyword being tried. Papyrus wasn't an idiot. He struggled sometimes, yes, but he wasn't an idiot....he tried. He put forth the effort, 110% in anything he did. And that was more than Sans could ever manage, so it was admirable, to say the least - on top of the fact that when they'd been in the same school for so long, he'd had to deal with people trying to pick on Papyrus, and picking fights with people deliberately, which wore him out, and...

Well, needless to say, the scar over his left eye was there for a reason, and it'd also led him to quite the aversion of knives. "he's innocent, yeah, but he's not an idiot, and he's not stupid." Sans said flatly. "just...never call him that to his face." He bit into his lip, finding a bit of annoyance at the whole situation at last. The smug way he said 'well, he's an idiot' like it was a fact...brought up a few unpleasant reminders. He let out a sigh that was abruptly stopped and replaced with his usual lazy grin as Papyrus peeked his head out of his room, holding a few games in his arms, and walking over to the two.

"SORRY FOR THE WAIT! ...YOU TWO ARE GETTING ALONG, RIGHT?" Papyrus asked, a questioning smile on his face.

"...yeah, sure are, bro." Sans replied.

Before Flowey could remark that doing that would make /him/ an idiot, and how would remarking on Papyrus's intelligence help him keep his ruse up was beyond him, the taller brother had finally made a comeback, leaving Flowey doing what he could to put a less-mocking smile on his face once more, and more of a genuine one in it's place. Maybe even some enthusiasm back in his features, if he could manage that much. At the very least, he'd seem content for his appearance's sake, straightening his posture to get a glimpse at the boxes in Papyrus's arms.

"I think we're getting along /great,/ actually!" A grin was flashed Sans' way, maybe to mock him, or maybe to have him affirm the point, he wasn't sure. It felt like the right plan of action, either way.

"Sooo, what d'you got there, buddy? Board games?" Brows lifted in interest, the boxes themselves coming riddled in a new assortment of colors he hadn't familiarized himself with yet. A part of him wanted to make a jab at it, maybe make a little note about how board games weren't the right choice-- but, he faltered. He'd never had to keep up the ruse in the same room as someone who /knew/ he was faking it. Perhaps letting Sans get a few snippets that weren't a cheery best friend wasn't the best idea.

"Soooounds.... pret-ty good to me! What's the first one on the list, then?"

Sans had nodded a bit, yeah, sure they were. Best friends already. Yeeeeeep. The fact that after letting down that ruse, all of the friendly cheerfulness now seemed mocking in a way was what got to him the most. Fate was a cruel mistress, and the fact that she'd apparently decided 'oh, you want a soulmate? here's a smug asshole, have fun' was just now really hitting him. He resisted every urge in his body not to sigh in annoyance, but he was obviously a bit tense.

Papyrus had clearly noticed something was up - but Papyrus wasn't willing to point it out. In truth, the younger of the two brothers heard bits and pieces of the conversation - he wasn't exactly deaf - and knew something was going on from the way their tones had changed to the way they were now. He smiled cheerfully, putting the boxes on the small coffee table in front of the couch. "SURE ARE! I PICKED THE BEST ONES! ...OH WAIT. THIS ONE REQUIRES...JEEZ, I FORGOT THAT YOU'RE BOTH COLORBLIND, I'M SORRY."

"aww, it's okay, bro." Sans reassured his brother.

"Yeah-- we'll get to play it someday. Probably." There was a look shot to Sans, almost a questioning one about the fact that they were just pretending it never happened. If that's how it was going to be, he wouldn't complain-- maybe he'd just pretend that it never happened in general, and get on with his life. Nonetheless, Flowey gave a shrug, scooting forward and hanging his legs off the edge of the couch again, leaning in to get a better look at the boxes set out before them.

A few of the titles on the boxes, admittedly, he'd never heard of. One of them was covered in colorful pieces, probably the one he was convinced that the two still couldn't play. Then there was... Monopoly. He recognized that title, at least, even if he hadn't played it in ages.

"How would you guys feel abooout this one?" 'This one' was accentuated by him leaning over and patting the box, taking a look between the two brothers and giving them each a curious glance, before scooting it towards Papyrus, as if it was obvious he had final say on it. "It's a pretty long game, I know-- but, hey, we don't need colors for this one too much, right? I think it'd work out okay."

"probably." Sans shrugged. More or less, he didn't want Papyrus hearing the words 'oh, yeah, by the way, your new bff is my soulmate.' Sans knew as much that Papyrus would instantly go to pieces and essentially wrap Flowey in a gigantic hug with a chorus of 'REALLY? IT'S LIKE WE'RE BROTHERS, TOO!!! WOWIE!' And as much as Sans would crack up at that, he was trying to be decent...plus, he'd never hear the end of it from Papyrus.

Papyrus looked at the box, and then nodded excitedly. "YEAH, THAT'D WORK!" He chirped. "RIGHT, SANS?"

"yeah, sure. that's the one that always puts me to sleep, though. but i'm...game...for it." Sans snickered, as Papyrus groaned.

"MUST YOU SAY PUNS EVEN NOW?"

"it's pun-evitable that i'd end up doing them sooner or later, bro, you know that...oh, and dibs on being the top hat."

Papyrus groaned, opening the box and taking all the pieces out, shaking his head and setting the top hat piece aside for Sans.

Without a doubt, the puns being tossed out, along with Papyrus's outrage, easily got a distasteful look and a roll of his eyes from Flowey. This was it. This was what the universe deemed it the best option to stick him with. Not anyone to equal terms with him, not anyone that he could tolerate for more than ten minutes without already loathing every choice he'd made that day, but /this./

If time travel was an option, and he could just go back and prevent this from happening, he would in a heartbeat.

After taking the dog-shaped piece, and sliding off the couch to better reach the coffee table, the game was in full swing. Full, unbearably slow-swing at that. Why did he recommend this game? Why didn't he remember that this was an entirely new version flavor of competitive torture? He had no idea. Fate, apparently, was out to give him the worst time imaginable.

Perhaps it was karma from his words earlier, or the situation in it's entirety as far as Papyrus went, but only two hours into the game and what felt like so much more of it to go, Flowey found himself slumped against the table, head against his arm, and eyes trained idly to the game board in front of him. The cheer and enthusiasm was gone only after the mere first fifteen minutes in, before he was more focused on things than anything, and now? He just wanted it to end. There was no Monopoly-based mercy to be seen for him, either.

"Who's winning? Somebody's got to be winning soon, right?" He lifted his head and squinted at the board, taking a look at both sides. He was almost falling out of the game, himself-- probably from the lack of general effort given to the whole thing-- but that was beside the point. "How are you guys even still at this at all?"

Sans was falling asleep off and on, and at that question, he gave a dismissive snore. Snnnnrr--huh? Oh. He was awake, he was totally awake. "...someone win yet?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes and checking his phone. Throughout the whole agonizing length of time, Sans had been idly texting his other friends - Tori (labeled under '<3 Tori <3'), Alphys (labeled under 'Alphyssss'), and Undyne (labeled under 'fundyne').

He'd nonchalantly let Alphys know that he'd found his soulmate - she wasn't going to tell anyone, of course, and she was excited for him, until he'd taken a picture of his facial expression, which bore a striking resemblance to a ' : |' emoticon. She'd given him the texting response of 'there, there, friend' along with a string of 'wwwww' Sans had then asked her if there was a way out of the whole thing, and her response had been--

'A lot of people have tried but no, there's not really, you're kinda stuck the way you are, sorry  
I'm sure he's a lot better than you think, though (っ´ω｀)ﾉ(╥ω╥)  
Besides If that was him in the background he looks kinda cute  
you should go for it (─‿‿─)♡'

The fact that Alphys was a lot more confident over text than she was in person wasn't helping matters either. She'd gotten lucky, she liked Undyne. And Undyne was alright. A bit dramatic and cooked worse than Papyrus did, but alright. Alphys was far more optimistic about this than he was, too, but that might've been because she could write friend-fics about him now.

When Papyrus admitted that even he'd lost track, Sans shrugged. "eh. settle for a tie? i don't think i can take any more of this."

"THAT'S PROBABLY FOR THE BEST."

"Thank god." Flowey could only give a defeated mumble, not bringing himself to budge much from where he'd comfortably planted himself against the surface of the table, either. Nope. An hour and a half with your face against a table means you've bonded for life with it. He couldn't just abandon a table that he'd gotten so close with in these trying times. It was a scandalous thing, even the thought.

Or, no, it wasn't, and his half-awake mind was running itself in circles to make excuses as to why he shouldn't haul himself up, maybe even actually start participating in whatever was going on again. It got an A for effort with trying to talk him out of it, though.

Leaning back and rubbing his face, doing whatever he could to get his full focus back, he tossed a glance between the siblings, lifting his brows and taking a moment to lean back against the couch, a breath escaping him. "Soooo... that was game night, huh? Pretty... eventful, I guess! Is that your guys' whole thing, then, or do we have some other kind of action-packed times ahead of us?"

Maybe he put the sarcasm on a little thick, there, but still-heavy eyelids and a generally disheveled look could probably have it passed off on him not being exactly the most pleasant being when not entirely awake. (That's what he was hoping, anyways.) After a few seconds of getting himself into focus, though, he managed to perk back up at least the slightest bit, offering a smile across the table. "Oh! How about a movie, hm? I know of a few reeeally good ones that you might like. They're old favorites of mine."

"movie sounds cool." Sans shrugged. Papyrus instantly jumped back into enthusiasm, though.

"OOH! THAT'D BE REALLY COOL! AND I COULD PROVIDE THE SNACKS!"

Sans' blood ran cold at the thought of what was to come next, but he started shaking with restrained laughter that oh, he would not be suffering this alone. You got yourself into this one, Flowey. You could've excused yourself and tried to escape to the safety of home. But no. Instead you had to face the terror of what was to come next. "let me guess, bro--"

"YES! I WILL MAKE IT MYSELF!" With that, the younger brother darted to the kitchen, leaving Sans still shaking with restrained laughter. Oh boy. Oh no. This was going to be great.

"so what movies were you going to suggest, eh?" Sans asked, his head in his hands, his usual grin having shifted into a Cheshire Cat-like smirk.

 Was Sans... shaking? There was no doubt about it, there was definitely some trembling happening in the other. The look on his face wasn't any kind of shaking in horror, though, and not from the cold, that wouldn't be right. He was... trying not to laugh?

Flowey was absolutely lost. Did he just miss something? Were they speaking in codewords? Something just wasn't adding up here.

It was only a few moments later, before Papyrus was off, leaving Flowey with a look that could only be summarized with an obscene amount of question marks. The clanging in the other room was the center of the blond's focus for a long few moments, before Sans finally snared his attention, the smirk leaving him with what was probably a few more question marks tacked onto that confused look of his.

"The Happening, maybe... A Final Destination movie. Or something." With brows still crumpled, and a quick glance back to a loud metal clattering sound echoing from the kitchen, he shot a look back to the brunet, a smile that he would've liked to have been expectant and confident winding up more nervous than anything. Admittedly, the confident, smug facade didn't do well with him having absolutely no idea as to what's going on. "...What's that look about?? Stop looking at me like that. Are you two up to something?"

"aww, pap doesn't do too good with thrillers. but hey, we can try." Sans wasn't even disguising the fact that now he was on the smug end of things, now that Papyrus wasn't in the room. "golly, why would you expect us to be up to anything?" He twirled one of the tassels of his jacket around his finger. "we're just doing what we normally do." He couldn't disguise the snickering that was going on when he heard the clanging and clattering from the kitchen.

"you're not used to that, of course. but i'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun. hehehehehehe." The reaction to Papyrus' cooking the first time anyone tried it was usually mild nausea and a horrible taste in the mouth, and depending on the day, the food could be described as horrible and mushy or hard and crisp like sandpaper. There was no perfect inbetween. There was just Papyrus and his spaghetti. Sans had long since gotten used to the horrible taste and to him it was just like taking medicine - sure, it didn't taste good, but he could down it pretty fast and it wouldn't be that bad in the end.

Flowey didn't have the luxury of knowing what was coming, and Sans couldn't help but find a sense of amusement in that. If we suffer, we suffer together. Welcome to spaghetti hell, Flowey. There's no escape, and you simply must suffer through it, lest you pasta way.

"See? That 'golly' thing. You called me out on that earlier. You're /definitely/ up to something." A scowl was shot Sans' way, though the unnerving sounds wiped the look off his face quickly, leaving him to wind up taking a lean over, hoping to catch a discreet peek at whatever it was Papyrus was doing in there that was making that kind of horrible sound. Any other time, or anyone else doing it, he would've merely passed them off as a loud cook and be done with it.

But, with that look he was getting from Sans, along with that tone of voice? No. Something wasn't right. He'd seen the way some bizarre fanatics get, but /no one/ gets this smug over movie snacks.

"You two aren't... intentionally going to give me food poisoning or something, are you?" A skeptical look was shot over, a breath of a laugh was given."No. No, there's no way you would do that. Or, /you/ might, but he wouldn't. I haven't done anything wrong to him. You're just trying to get me all worked up for nothing, aren't you?"

"maybe i am. maybe i'm not. who knows? well, i know, but i'm not gonna say." Sans winked. He baaarely kept himself from pointing out the 'intentionally' in that sentence. Papyrus would never intentionally poison anyone. Unintentionally? Well...that was a different story. Most people seemed to spaghetti the point and try to avoid mentioning hunger around Pap as much as they could, but everyone has to experience it at least once.

The familiar sound of a timer being set, and the stove being turned on began as there was still some clanging and the sound of being stirred far too hard. Papyrus was inspired, definitely. His new friend had to have the best spaghetti he'd ever had. It would be a...unique...experience, Sans had to admit. "just try to remain optimistic, buttercup - pap's sensitive about his cooking as is." Who knows? It might even be edible this time.

....No. It wouldn't be. As soon as the timer rang, Papyrus was heard quickly putting them onto plates - and Sans had finally texted Alphys back.

'pap's making spaghetti'  
'〣( ºΔº )〣 Did you warn your boyfriend'  
'he's not -- whatever, nope'  
'www This is going to be horrible, you're the worst boyfriend ever (Ｔ▽Ｔ)'  
'yep' 

"IT'S DONE!" Papyrus announced, walking out with three plates of what could charitably be described as spaghetti. Sans immediately switched his smug smile out for a gentler one - though not before casting Flowey one more smug glance. Hahaha.

A face was made at the notion that Sans was intentionally leaving him in the dark, his brows crumpling and a huff being earned before he shifted his focus to more important things. Namely, what sounded like fury-stirring in the other room over, a horrific sound to say the very least. So far, it didn't /smell/ like the worst thing in the world... maybe bland pasta at the worst, if he had to place something on it.

"Buttercup?" The thought on placing just what the spaghetti was going to be like was jarred quickly, a glare being shot back the other's way. It was one thing to tell him to keep looking on the bright side-- but with a nickname, to boot? If he weren't trying to keep appearances right now, he would've absolutely tried to tear this guy a new one for that. Maybe he was a little too on-edge from the smug jabs from the other, but nevertheless.

Before he could have a chance to snap back at the other, though, about how he'd react to the cooking any way he'd please, and a few other miscellaneous huffs and griping along with it, Papyrus made his triumphant appearance once more. This time, with three plates of spaghetti in tow, catching Flowey's interest as he hauled himself back up on to the couch.

Interest faded into confusion the second the plate made it to his hands, though. Maybe... it wasn't spaghetti? It looked like it could've been spaghetti once, but he wasn't sure. And, was it... charred? How did one even /manage/ to burn spaghetti?

There was a fleeting glance up, a quick to see if maybe if there was any way of backing out of this noodle abomination-- but, that didn't seem to be the case. There was no way he could feign a stomach-ache at this point, he should've probably done that sooner, if he wanted to escape his fate.

But, now, with little choice left in the matter, a skeptical moment was taken to grab his fork and scoop up some of the pasta, warily taking a bite out of it and hoping to any deity that might even remotely hear him out that it wouldn't taste as bad as it looked.

The way his face scrunched up and contorted in what could only be classified as pure disgust clearly showed that those hopes didn't go even slightly answered.

Sans was already barely resisting cackling, especially at that face. He scooped up his own bite - and yes, he had to admit, this was the best spaghetti Papyrus had ever made. That was not saying much.

"HOW IS IT? IT'S GREAT, RIGHT?" Papyrus asked hopefully, sitting on the floor with his own plate. Sans gave him a thumbs up.

"best you've ever made, bro. no kidding." He responded. Papyrus looked absolutely ecstatic.

"YOU LIKE IT TOO, RIGHT, FLOWEY?"

"you kiddin', bro? look at his face. he loves it." Sans had the largest, most amused grin on his face as he looked at the blonde. "100% approval rating."

"WOWIE! USUALLY IT'S JUST A 99%! MAYBE I SHOULD MAKE MOR--"

"--nah, nah, bro! bro, we're good, kay?" Sans took another bite of his own, using a cough to disguise a few chuckles. Magnificent. "so. we're going to watch a movie, right?"

"...IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE SAD MOVIES AGAIN, IS IT? I DON'T WANT TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE--" Papyrus looked down, eating a bite of his own spaghetti.

"no, it's not going to be bambi again."

"OH...PHEW." Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief. "SO WHAT IS IT, THEN?"

"i don't know. flowey suggested the happening or final destination."

"ISN'T THE FIRST ONE THAT SILLY MOVIE WHERE THE ALIENS CAN'T GET THROUGH DOORS?"

"yes."

"PFFF. MOST OF IT'S BORING, THOUGH....AND THE SECOND ONE...I HAVEN'T HEARD OF IT."

"ehhh. it's okay."

"WE SHOULD WATCH MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO AGAIN. THAT WAS CUTE."

"...ehhhh. and you usually don't like what i pick..."

"THAT'S BECAUSE MOST OF IT IS RUDE, SANS. WHEN THEY HAVE A SONG ABOUT HOW SOMEONE VIOLATES THEIR UNCLE, IT IS NOT A GOOD MOVIE. AND THE THINGS LATER IN IT WERE JUST MEAN!" Papyrus protested.

"pfffhahahahaha. you laughed at it at the time."

"BECAUSE OF THE SILLY FART NOISES! ....LET'S JUST WATCH THAT MOVIE YOU SAID WAS GOOD WITH THE TALKING TREE AND THE RACCOON." That was a typical discussion between the two, honestly. Sans with his immature humor, Papyrus with his protest over immature humor yet still laughing at it and--

"bro, you forgot we have a guest. so, buttercup, mind if we watch that instead?"

Good /god./ Was this why he hadn't heard of anyone ever going over to the Gaster family's shared home before? It was just this? When it boiled right down to it, being morally obliged to eat the worst food he'd ever been forced to hold down in his entire life and bearing with this endless conversation that made him feel as though he were slowly but surely losing his mind.

It wasn't like he could pipe up to get it to end, either. Swallowing the spaghetti might be one of the hardest things he's ever tried to will himself to do, and taking a moment to himself to try to get himself in check. He had this. He could do it. He's stomached worse things, hadn't he? Probably. Like the time he'd been dared as a kid to eat flowers-- but, at least those were /supposed/ to taste bad. The pasta had no excuse. He trusted it, and with the helping hand of Papyrus, the noodles betrayed him.

He'd nearly had it it down, when apparently, Sans took it upon himself to use that awful nickname again for no good reason. The choking sound that came from him was ridiculous, and was probably pretty goddamn laughable for anyone that wasn't him, coupled with the panicked look that washed over his face.

"Yeah, sure, whatever--" He murmured quickly, letting out a breath and lifting a hand to wipe his mouth with his sleeve. Now that he'd gotten it over with, maybe now it wasn't so bad. ...No, it was still pretty terrible, even if he tried to act like it wasn't the worst thing he'd ever had to eat in his entire life.

He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if he didn't at least keep trying, though. And, he had to keep Papyrus in good spirits to keep himself in good standing with him, right?

Despite the horrible taste in his mouth, a discreet glare was shot to Sans, more of one that blamed him for knowing this would happen than anything else at the very moment. Another few moments went by of just sort of looking into the horrible food, before a sharp breath was taken, and all cares for the wellbeing of his stomach and any semblance of self-worth as far as taste went was tossed out the window.

In the matter of a few minutes, and struggling to taste as little of it as he could, he finished off the plate, casting it aside and letting out a heavy breath. Oh, god. Was that nausea coming on? His stomach definitely wasn't happy about the developments, to say the very least.

Taking a moment to collect himself, hopefully to the point where he would manage to effectively keep the spaghetti down, he tossed a glance over to the brothers, waiting a few fleeting seconds before speaking up. Jeez, even his voice was wavering after that disaster-- Papyrus's cooking was clearly a meal for those with a death wish, as he saw it now.

"Hey, buddy, do you have anything to drink around here? I don't think my stomach was ready for..." A look was taken to Sans, a careful wording was planned out, before he spoke back up. "All... that... New, different home-cooking, you've got going."

Flowey's expression nearly got Sans to start laughing - just, nearly - tears were in his eyes from repressing it so much. Sans had winked when he glanced at him - and that was enough revenge for him. Never call his brother stupid again. The spaghetti will take revenge on behalf of Sans, and Sans will laugh about it later. Papyrus quickly nodded, hopping up and going to get everyone cups of water, and returning with three colored red, blue, and green.

"THERE!" He took a sip out of the red one himself, smiling happily as he crawled towards the cabinet beneath the TV, digging out the DVD of Guardians of the Galaxy that Sans had gotten a few weeks prior. He looked for all the world like he wasn't paying attention, opening the case and putting the disc in.

Sans had finished his own plate, putting it on the table, and while the unskippable previews were playing before the DVD menu came on screen, Papyrus got up, and walked to the kitchen, taking the plates with him to put into the sink. Just before he got back, he paused, hearing a peculiar conversation--

"oh, ya mind handing me my cup? it's the blue one."

 


	2. I'd Rather Be (Anywhere Else But Here)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Let's just say - I loathe it all  
> Ev'ry little trait, however small  
> Makes my very flesh begin to crawl  
> With simple utter loathing  
> There's a strange exhilaration  
> In such total detestation  
> It's so pure and strong!  
> Though I do admit it came on fast  
> Still I do believe that it can last  
> And I will be loathing  
> Loathing you  
> My whole life long!'

This brand of revenge was unspeakable, really. Internal warfare? Now, that was just cruel and unusual, even for /him./ Regardless of it's cruelty, though, it definitely DID instill the fact of who he should and shouldn't make remarks about a certain tall, cheery idiot in front of. Hey, it was a learning experience, at least-- even if it was one learning experience he could've gladly gone his whole life without experiencing. Not to mention how, the longer the food sat in his stomach, the more turmoil it seemed to send him into.

When he got home, he was probably going to have a shamefully long night of whining and hiding in bed while he waited for the cursed spaghetti nightmare to pass.

The water he was given helped the smallest bit, at the very least. Once the green cup was sat aside, he settled back against the couch, a huff escaping him as he tried to get himself back together. Come on, Flowey-- there were appearances to keep up. He couldn't turn into a nauseous, miserable sack yet. That part came later. Along with perhaps a few prying questions towards Sans as to if this happened to /everyone/ that ate his brother's cooking.

The bitter, food-related thoughts were shoved out of the way for the time-being, at least, the other's voice catching his attention. Be civil, this was just a cup passing. As tempting as just pouring it onto the other was, now wasn't the time.

"Yeah, sure. Even if it /is/ closer to you. I feel like I shouldn't be enabling this laziness." The snip was tossed in half-heartedly, just for good measure, as the appropriate cup was passed over. Without skipping a beat from there, he got his own cup once more, wedging himself into his respective corner of the couch and getting cozy. "By the way, if this movie's garbage, we /are/ watching one of mine. Just so you know, those are the movie rules."

"pfff. kay, fine. it's good though, i promise." Sans took a sip of his cup, putting it back on the table, and then Papyrus walked out of the kitchen once more, still looking cheerful as ever and returning to his seat on the floor.

"HUH. IT'S WEIRD. YOU KNOW, I COULD'VE SWORN THAT BOTH OF YOU BEFORE TODAY HAD NO IDEA WHAT BLUE WAS."

Sans breath caught in his throat. Oh. Oh fuck. Oh crap. Shit shit shit. His usual smile turned into something of more worry. "....we don't?" That was stupid, but it was the first thing that got out of his mouth.

Papyrus frowned, looking at them both. "...ARE YOU TWO SOULMATES AND KEPT THAT FROM ME?" He asked, accusingly...before bursting into a grin again. "BECAUSE IF YOU ARE, THAT'S FANTASTIC!"

Sans immediately looked even more worried. It was one thing for Papyrus to be upset...it was another thing altogether for him to be excited about it. "I DIDN'T THINK THAT...WOWIE! MY BEST FRIEND AND MY BROTHER! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME SOONER! NOW WE CAN DO THINGS LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME! IT'S LIKE HAVING ANOTHER BROTHER, EXCEPT NOT-RELATED! YOU TWO ARE GREAT FOR EACH OTHER!"

Sans sank into himself, laughing nervously, not sure what to say.

Timing, without a doubt, didn't seem to be Flowey's strongest point today. He'd just gotten done taking a drink of his water, and right after it was down, apparently the most opportune moment of them all came for Sans' mistake in wording to finally get called out.

Flowey was stuck stifling a cough, letting out a muffled wheezing sound instead-- and, to add onto that, he didn't dare look towards Papyrus. Instead, a fairly mortified look was shot Sans' way, some accusation mixed in with the horror. God damn it, they were doing so /well/ before the colored cups got thrown into the mix, he was almost sure that they would've been able to hide it for a little while. At least longer than a /day./

"We, uh--" There he went, stumbling over his words, each and every part of his mind being wracked for a good excuse. He was full of excuses for just about every situation, where were all the ones for something like this??

"It was... going to be, a...." He trailed off, glancing off to the side, before forcing himself to brighten up. Put on that fake enthusiasm that was near-painful with all this embarrassment, too. "Surprise! Yeah! ...We weren't sure how we were gonna tell you, but, we never had any time to figure it out even for ourselves without giving it away, you know? Gee, Sans. Nice going ruining the surprise."

A glare was shot the shorter brother's way-- but, for once, it wasn't any degree of an annoyed one. At this point? He just wanted to piece together some sham of a story, maybe to get Papyrus to slow down with the whole ordeal, but he needed help. Desperately. Even if Sans' idea of weaseling out of the revelation was a piss-poor attempt at denying that blue was a thing they were both aware of.

The surprise excuse wasn't exactly the best idea he'd ever had, though, uneasiness now twisting his stomach along with the bad food. Nice going, Flowey, good job digging an even deeper hole for this mess. Go team.

"...oh, crap, yeah, i forgot it was going to be a surprise." Sans was entirely numb, like all feeling had left his body other than sheer unbridled terror. Papyrus was so excited about it, and he was certain to just assume that it was a given...

"YOU WERE TRYING TO SURPRISE ME?? YOU DIDN'T NEED TO TRY TO! YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME SOONER, AND THEN YOU'D HAVE HAD THE WHOLE NIGHT TO YOURSELVES!" Papyrus smiled, and Sans sank further into himself. Oh, god. "BUT THEN AGAIN, YOU TWO PROBABLY CAN'T BE LEFT ALONE FOR TOO LONG! I'VE HEARD THINGS ABOUT NEW COUPLES!"

Sans was just dead inside at this point. No. Why. He glanced back at his phone, to only tap a four letter word to Alphys.

'h e l p'  
'What's wrong?'  
'papyrus just found out about the thing and he's implying things i  
'm dying inside more every second  
help please  
i don't know how but just help'  
'Ohh...okay, I've got an idea!'

"I'M SURE YOU TWO WILL BE VERY HAPPY, BUT JUST IN CAS--" Papyrus' own phone rang, even though he'd just pressed play on the DVD. "--OH." He took it out, looking at it. "OOP! IT'S FROM UNDYNE, BETTER TAKE THIS! YOU TWO BE GOOD!" He rushed into the kitchen once more to not disturb them, and Sans breathed a sigh of relief, glancing down at his phone once more.

'You're welcome (^ω~)'  
'thank you'

"...that...just happened..." That was the only thing Sans could mutter out, pulling his jacket's hood over his head in humiliation. He was never going to hear the end of it now.

The surprise excuse almost went well, it seemed like! Maybe Flowey abandoned that enthusiasm too soon-- or, no. No, not at all. Nope, abandoning all hope was actually the best option right now, especially with all this talk of "nights to themselves" and "not being left alone too long." Even the word couple made him want to gag, really. Maybe even more so than the food did.

For the moment, he was too appalled to see Sans taking his attention away from the onslaught towards his phone. At first, the reasoning behind Sans hiding their newfound connection wasn't exactly clear, but boy, was it NOW.

He didn't know what stroke of luck it happened on, but right when things seemed just about ready to take the nosedive from bad to worse with Papyrus's eager rambling, a upbeat ringtone snared his attention, and before he knew it, he was off. The freedom from the onslaught was a relief he couldn't have ever imagined would be this great. Once he was out of earshot, pale hands found their way to cover his face, a heavy breath escaping him before he snuck a peek over to the other suffering party.

Apparently, Sans had it /far/ worse than he did. Which made sense, considering that Flowey could easily escape from the rambling, but this was Sans's own new, fresh hell that he'd been given. He'd feel bad for the guy, if he hadn't trapped himself in this mess.

"Yeesh... so. That's why we weren't... I get it now." He sat up, patting his hands on his knees for a short moment, before letting out an exaggerated breath. "Weeeell, I should probably be... y'know. Heading out soon. It's getting kind of late, isn't it?" A glance to the clock on the wall only showed six o'clock. Not even remotely late. "Besides, I'm sure you and Paps in there have a /lot/ of chatting to do once he gets off the phone, and I don't want to interrupt anything!"

"...yeeeeah." Sans sighed."even if you escape it now, you can't escape it forever. now that he knows." He tried to collect himself and his thoughts. "welp. we're both stuck with this even moreso now, because papyrus knows, he talks loud enough for everyone to hear, word travels, and everyone thinks that we're on the same boat of 'found my soulmate and now completely in love' like they are. even if i get the 'chatting' straight away, he might ambush you. we're both stuck in relationship hell, buttercup. as far as everyone else is concerned, we're in the most fucked up domestic partnership known to mankind."

Sad thing was that he was probably right. Even now, he could imagine Papyrus was babbling to Undyne about it, and Alphys already knew, word would eventually travel back to Mettaton too, then to his posse since he was unreasonably popular, and--oh god. What if the news reached Tori? That'd...oh no. That'd screw everything up! Sure, she wasn't his soulmate, nor was he hers, and...there was absolutely no hope for that and he just really didn't want her to smile and say 'I hope you two are happy together~' It was almost nightmarish, in its own little way. Meeting someone who is the exact opposite of his preferences, and being told by the entire world that you're going to be in love with him sooner or later, so suck it up, buddo.

If he was weaker than he was, he would've cried. But he was strong enough to face it. "...this is the worst day." He stated flatly, and for a few minutes the only sound was Papyrus talking faintly in the other room, and the TV playing the movie's music --

'I'm not in love...so don't forget it....it's just a silly phase I'm going through...'

"Augh. This is /garbage./" Flowey heaved a sign, leaning back into the couch cushions and frowning. "You know what? I made peace with a grey world. I was ab-so-lutely peachy with it! Then, I make one teensy little mistake of letting your brother con me into coming over, and-- it's not fair. It's just not fair. Why does everybody assume that, ohhh, just because I can see in color now, I'll just throw myself into some stranger's arms because /fate/ or something stupid says I have to? It doesn't make any sense."

A sneer was given to the thought itself, a glance snuck over to his "soulmate," before the TV screen was given his full attention. Even if that attention wasn't even particularly focused, and still fruitlessly doing what he could to find a way out of this mess, any sliver of an idea that didn't involve booking it to the next town over, or something of the likes.

There wasn't anything he could do, though. As much as he hated it with every fiber of his being, and loathed Sans just about as much, he was stuck in it. Finding one's soulmate was sort of an indefinite cage to one being trapped with a person, from what he gathered. No matter how much he despised it, this was really it for it.

"He isn't just going to... forget about it or something, is he? Is that an option?" The previous frustrations with it started to make a shift to something more defeated. "Is this /really/ the only option we've got? There's gotta be something else we can do."

"from what i asked my friend, people have tried to fight it before....it's never turned out well, and there just ends up being coincidences that get them together - hell, fighting fate together probably made 'em closer. and yeah, i'm obviously not too happy with the situation either but no, we're not gonna just be able to ignore it, as much as we'd like to." Sans felt just as trapped, but he hoped he'd eventually come to terms with it...eventually. It'd take time, and...at the moment, he couldn't imagine doing so, but people have made peace with worse things, right? He could've gotten a lot worse for a soulmate. A lot worse.

"i'm...goddammit, no one ever asked for this." Everyone else was happy whenever they found their soulmate. Alphys was happy when she found Undyne, Papyrus was happy when he found his, though he wasn't entirely certain (best bet was Mettaton, though), Toriel had told him once that when she found her own it had been a great feeling, even if she had divorced him since...so why was he sitting here in misery when by all laws of the universe, he should be thrilled? "...we're gonna have to come to peace with it sooner or later, as much as i hate to say it. not that we'll want to like each other, but chances are we'll end up liking each other anyway."

He sighed, getting a bitter smirk on his face. "i do tend to grow on people, so hey, who knows. while from now we might actually laugh about this."

And the thought of it made him cringe a bit internally. Eeeugh.

While Sans' cringe was internal, Flowey didn't hesitate to make his much more external, a sound of distaste even escaping him at the notion.

"You know, I think I was wrong about Papyrus before-- I can't tell if you're the stupid sibling, or if you're just surrendering without putting up a single fight." Flowey folded his arms across his chest, winding up puffed up like an indignant child. "You can go ahead and make peace with it all you want, but /I'm/ not just going to buckle for something that doesn't make any sense at all. Fate be damned."

There was a moment of silence, mostly of Flowey trying to hold firm the thought to himself, but the more he thought on it, the more it'd occur to him that Sans was probably right. He hadn't heard of anyone at all successfully fighting and escaping from being bound from their soulmate. It was always a sickening process of two people being at odds with one another, but those odds always somehow turned around one way or another, and somehow made the two closer than ever. No part of it added up in his mind, not even remotely.

Maybe he could just stick to doing nothing but absolutely despising Sans. It'd be hard for any sort of warm feelings to make their way in through cold, firm hatred, right? That's what he was hoping for, anyways.

"I'm willing to /bet/ that you're dead wrong, here." For once, amidst all his panic and embarrassment, he was able to take on a smug look once more, his brows lifting in vague amusement. "I mean, really! It isn't going to happen. I don't want it to happen, you don't want it to happen, I'm sure, so I'm going to make /sure/ it doesn't happen. Trust me."

"i just know when to throw in the towel. call it stupid if you want - and yeah, i don't want it to happen, obviously. but what the hell are we going to do about it? just bitch about it together until our bitching eventually results in us going 'fuck it, why not'? or complete avoidance until the universe gets pissed off and pushes us back together again? or are you going to try to hate me just to get all 'i-it's not like i like you, or anything, i-idiot' later? we've got our options, buttercup." Sans' natural pessimism led him to just kind of shrug it off. It hadn't happened yet, at least. And hey, when it did, maybe he'd even enjoy it. But he was content to simply just go 'yeah, sure, whatever' in front of most everyone in the mess.

Well, most everyone.

"but hey, if you wanna fight against it, that's your problem. when you start falling for me, be sure to let me know, kay? i kinda wanna rub it in." He winked, despite his tone dripping with cynicism and bitterness over the whole thing. Faaaaaantastic. He had no doubt that he'd just eventually be pushed on the worst date ever with this smug know-it-all blonde, and god knows what would happen from there. Nothing good, his present self would say. Nothing good.

There was a split second that Flowey went to protest, along with snap about that foul nickname that he couldn't seem to stop using, but, as much as he hated it? Sans had a point. He'd literally taken any thought that Flowey deemed manageable, and more than likely pieced together just how the universe would trump each and every tactic he'd been mulling over. Wonderful. /Fantastic./ If that wasn't a blow to his confidence with ending this whole debacle, he didn't know what else would be.

If Flowey was anything though, damn it, he was persistent. Some pessimism wasn't going to stomp out his adamance on this-- not yet, anyways.

"Gee, you seem awfully sure that I'm just going to give in and let you woo me, or something equally as terrible. Are you sure /you're/ not the one already falling, here?" A smug grin was flashed his way, the blonde looking more than amused with the whole thing. "I mean, I don't know about you, but it seems to me like you're almost to even /hoping/ I do, with how sure you are about all this! It's hilarious."

"yeah, good luck with that idea, buddo." Sans snorted dismissively. "you forget the fact that i can utterly shoot you down if it happens, and hey, i'd probably find it even more hilarious when you stop going from acting like you're better than everyone else to actually trying to be genuinely nice in an effort to 'impress me'. it'd at least improve ya, even if i'd be unaffected. besides, why would i be falling? i've already got someone i'm interested in, and she's gorgeous, smart, and the most sweet person i've ever met. until that dies down, if it ever does, you'd be shit out of luck in assuming i'd be into you first, even if your ego demands otherwise."

God, she was perfect in every way. WHY couldn't the universe have set him up with her instead?! Ugh. Still, whatever, maybe - like he said - the fact that the universe was pushing him and this asshat together would at least eventually cause a personality shift for the better. And that was always nice. Too bad it ended with...eugh, presumably lip-locking. Bluuuuh. Gross.

Maybe he'd wake up soon enough and this'd all be some terrible nightmare. He fell asleep on the couch waiting for Papyrus and his friend, and they just hadn't come home yet and woken him up. Yeah. That'd be the best solution. Just--hopefully--that was it. Hopefully.

...He knew it wasn't, but a guy could dream.

The smugness was quickly dropped from there, easily turned to a scowl. Alright, so, not only did his jabs practically go to deaf ears, BUT now there was some other interest in the picture? As much as a few grumbles and remarks seemed like the right way to go with this, it almost seemed like he fell into a long moment of thought, brows lifting in surprise.

So, Sans was into someone else. That would've been a /dire/ problem... had they reacted to this like the usual soulmates.

As far as Flowey was concerned? This was the solution they needed.

"Oh, gosh, look at me, making assumptions like that! I really have /got/ to get better about that." A shake of his head was given, and a smile was back on his face as he turned to face the other better, brows lifted in mock-interest. "So, you've got your eyes set on somebody else, huh? She sounds just great! And I, personally, think you ought to go for it."

"yeah, she's already found her soulmate before too, and that...didn't work out, so hey, we're in the same general situation, why not." Sans had actually briefly smiled to himself - the idea of Toriel going on a date with him, laughing together, smiling - that smile she had was just gorgeous - and who needs the stupid soulmates thing when he had her? Well. He wished he had her. He'd never actually asked, honestly. "and if that all works out, maybe that'll have this shit settled too."

He was going to do it, he decided. He had to. He was going to ask her out on a date, and they were going to have a great time, and if they got lucky and the universe somehow slipped up enough for them to be the first to succeed in avoiding their fate, then that'd be great. He didn't exactly have his hopes set high, but...

A brief look at his phone, and -

'tori uh i know we're mostly friends, but um would you want to go on a date sometime?'  
'Oh! Are you sure, Sans? I'd be delighted, but I'm a bit old for you, aren't I?'  
'nonono that's fine! doesn't matter to me'  
'...Then, well, alright!'

Good /god./ Look at that smile. Whoever this chick was, Sans clearly had it for her, and he had it for her /bad./ There was no way this wouldn't be able to work, at this rate! He'd be able to get back to life as it should be, he didn't have to worry about winding up weighed down by some dumb ploy fate made up, and Sans would be the last of his worries if he ever got dragged back to the home.

Which, by the sounds of the chattering he briefly tuned into in the kitchen, was probably going to be more often than he would ever care for.

The moment the phone left Sans' hands, though, and he took in a look on his face that was anything but disappointed-looking, he brightened up, sitting up from where he'd been leaned back. "Soo, how'd it go? You two seal the deal, then?"

"surprisingly, yeah." Sans was thrilled - she'd said yes she'd said yes YESSSSSS. He was practically ecstatic. Perfect! Tori would fall in love with him, he was already in love with her, and they'd be happy - forget soulmates, who needs 'em, they found their own way...

And despite what had happened prior, for the next week, Sans was practically bouncing off the walls. Papyrus had assumed that things were going well between his brother and his intended soulmate, and, well, Sans let him think what he liked, though he'd eventually have to let him know that that didn't exactly work out, but it's okay, because Tori's far prettier, and sweeter, and perfect, and she laughs at his jokes...

So they'd agreed to meet at a cafe, and he'd waited around for a bit until - there she was, her gorgeous, only slightly faded blonde hair, a gentle smile on her face. "Oh...am I late? I'm sorry, I got a bit caught up teaching classes..."

"tori, don't you mean you got a bit...taught up?" Sans winked, and the sound of her laughter...sigh. It made his heart beat fast. "but nah, you're not late, i was just a bit early. don't worry."

"Phew...that's splendid, I'm a bit relieved, to be honest." Tori admitted. "It's been quite a while since I was on a date, so I hope you don't mind my slowly easing back into things."

"hey, 's fine, tori. i'm just glad i was able to convince ya into it."

"Well, I suppose, since you haven't met your soulmate yet, and mine is--well..."

"a douche?"

Tori snorted. "To put it bluntly, yes. So perhaps things may work out after all, if you're intent on trying."

"and i am!" Sans took her hand gently, giving it a kiss. "if i can be blunt again - anything for you, tori."

Toriel turned the slightest shade of pink. "How gentlemanly. Hmm, well--" She froze instantly, seeing a familiar face nearby, her eyes wide. The person she was looking at had abruptly stopped as well, and Sans looked over to see exactly who it was. "...Asriel? Is that you?" She asked.

Asriel? Wasn't that her kid she'd mentioned a few times? Huh, wonder who it wa--

....Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. Sans instantly froze up with a half smile half grimace. Fate, you've done it again...please let her be mistaken please let her be mistaken please let this be a huge misunderstanding.

The following weeks from Sans hooking up with his little crush had, frankly, been some of the easiest that Flowey had gone through in a /long/ time.

There were times when he was still dragged over to spend time with the brothers, sure, but instead of having some sort of soulmate-ridden complications, it wasn't so bad. He had Papyrus still practically wrapped around his finger, Sans off his back, and everything was just peachy. Hell, if things kept up like this, he figured he could probably live comfortably, leeching off the bone-headed siblings for maybe even the next year or so!

The current day hadn't been anything too out of the usual: Sans went on that date, Papyrus subjected him to My Neighbor Totoro for what he was pretty sure was the eighth time he'd seen it since he'd gotten roped into hanging out with him, and on the guise of meeting Sans somewhere, he was able to make a swift escape about half-way through the movie. Hands stuffed in a cozy jacket that battled the fall air easily, he started home, a content sigh escaping him.

This was going /great./ Honestly, with the turn for the wonderful that things had turned to, how could things go wrong?

He just HAD to ask, of course, didn't he? Apparently, a little bit of too-long prolonged eye-contact with someone he'd done everything and anything to avoid answered that question, leaving his blood feeling as though it was running cold.

The worst part of it? Oh, she absolutely recognized him. Even referred to him by /name./ It was just his luck.

"Uh, I-- Well-- I think you've got--" She's got the wrong guy? There was no way. Just look at her face, he wasn't able to even remotely weasel his way out of this. He didn't budge from where he was firmly planted on the sidewalk, as much as his body demanded that he run and not look back. Swallowing thickly, a panicked smile pulled at his lips, no part of his good composure able to put up any kind of casual facade. He hadn't even taken notice of who she was with-- he didn't think her guest would blame him for getting a little scatterbrained when /this/ of all things impeded on an excellent day, though.

"H--Howdy, Mom!" He stammered out, lifting a hand to uneasily wave. "It's... uh. It's been a while, huh?"

Now, it was time for Flowey to send his panicked looks elsewhere. Nope, he couldn't look at her. Of all the things to happen, why did it have to be this? He didn't deserve this. (He probably did.) Frankly, he was wholeheartedly convinced that things couldn't get worse, until he finally made eye-contact with a face that had him looking even more tense than he did before, if that was even possible.

Oh, you HAD to be kidding him. Of all the people, why did it have to be /him?/

Toriel instantly darted over, a still completely stunned Sans left behind - and hugged her son. "I've missed you so much, my child..." She said, keeping a few tears inside her eyes. Sans awkwardly regained some sense of consciousness, shifting on his feet and shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "You've been well, I hope? You've grown quite a bit! My, it's almost unbelievable..." Toriel paused, letting go and glancing back at Sans. "...oh. I'm sorry for the interruption, Sans. I did not expect this to happen either..."

Toriel wasn't stupid, however, and did raise a bit of a brow that Sans and Asriel now both seemed to be very tense at the sight of each other. "Sans, this is Asriel, my son. Asriel, this is Sans, my....date." She smiled a slightly ashamed smile. "...I know that might be embarrassing for both of you, but if this actually goes well, you'll certainly have to get used to each other."

"...uh....hi." Sans could barely get the words out. To get things straight mentally - he was currently on a date with his soulmate's mother, and apparently said soulmate had changed his name and hadn't seen her in quite a while, judging by the reaction. Amazing. He almost felt ill. Beautiful, gorgeous Toriel had given birth to....Flowey. The contrast was amazing - although, yeah, they did kinda share similar physical features, just the personalities, though, were a study in absolutely perfect and...absolutely disgusting.

Yep. Sans definitely felt some sense of nausea creeping up in his stomach.

"I-- Yeah, I missed you too, Mom." He managed out, tentatively easing into the hug, struggling to actually get responses to her questions out. Or, to come up with responses at all, if he were able to."I've been doing-- alright! Well enough, anyways, hah. Uh." Well, /this/ was something he hadn't expected by any length of the imagination.

After the Dreemurr family practically falling apart ages ago, and the two growing more and more distant until he eventually deemed it best to book it and not look back, he wasn't expecting, well. Such a warm welcome, by any length of the imagination, was something he hadn't even been vaguely prepared for.

You know what else hadn't been expected, though?

His mother introducing Sans as, not an acquaintance or something, not anything he could stomach. Oh, no.

He was her date. She was the one he asked out just a week ago.

"You've /got/ to be kidding me." At first, a grin, mixed with disbelief and amusement pulled at his lips. He was going to be sick. Yep, this was probably the worst thing that could've happened. Fate was a disgustingly cruel mistress. Despite himself, though, the look on Sans's face had him melting into a fit of laughter, a hand lifting to cover his mouth. Was it actually hilarious? Well, kind of. The fact that his soulmate was trying to hook up with his mother had a pretty even balance of cruel comedy and pure horror going for it.

Once he managed to get himself together, though, he went from looking as though this was the funniest thing that he'd ever witnessed, to something more... disbelief. No one else was laughing. Nope, this wasn't some kind of joke.

Turning away from Toriel, and hoping she couldn't see his face, he gave Sans a bewildered look, only mouthing words to him. 'Are you serious?'

Sans was definitely feeling ill. Yep. This was the worst. He was going to hurl. Whereas he'd be downright thrilled to be introduced as Toriel's date to anyone else, in this situation, it only made things...that much worse. The fact that his soulmate was her son--oh, jeez. No matter what happened now, it was going to be creepy. Intensely creepy.

Sans looked down, mouthing the words 'i didn't know!' The response her son had given, plus their expressions had given Toriel a decent idea of-- "Oh! Do you two already know each other somehow?"

Sans would've gladly just then and there wished for a telephone pole to just plummet from the sky and smush him into the sweet release of death. Toriel still looked absolutely delighted, though - perhaps her son and her date were already friends? Then that made things a lot easier, too! Plus...

She'd missed her son. Quite a bit. She always blamed herself for him disappearing, leaving her behind, cutting ties, but it was a combination of their other child's death, the divorce with her previous husband, and her being lost in her own grief, she knew. She still felt like she could've done everything better, and if she'd simply realized....well, she could make it all up now. She could make things all better now!

Sans, on the other hand, was sinking into 'things are the worst they could've been.' He'd practically originally when he asked her out gushed about her with hearts in his eyes and there was no easy way to put the fact that he was supposed to be with her son - who looked just as mortified. They'd have to fake it again, but...

How long until they screwed this up? That's what he had to wonder. It had to happen eventually, but...please don't let it be soon, he hoped.

The question nearly had Flowey jumping in surprise, his gaze turning back to his mother-- who, in contrast to everyone else involved with this hellish situation, was looking as though this was the best thing that'd happened to her in a while.

It was awful. Flowey's stomach was doing the most unpleasant somersaults imaginable in protest to this even happening at /all./

"We-- yeah, we've met before! I'm... friends with his younger brother." He cracked a smile, hoping desperately the gesture didn't look nearly as forced as it actually was. The weight of the whole situation was settling in, and it was hitting him like a bag of bricks. His soulmate was dating his mother. His mom was dating someone he loathed. Not only that, but she seemed so goddamn /happy/ that he was finally back in her life, and the bitter truth of it was that he wasn't actually.

Flowey and Asriel? They might as well have been two whole separate entities. She probably remembered him as the sweet, timid kid he used to be, who saw nothing but boundless potential and kindness in anyone he'd meet. How was she going to deal with Flowey, now? He wasn't anything that he used to be. Any care he'd had in his heart grew sour-- kindness turned into a method to seek opportunities in people, and after abandoning his family so long ago, true compassion merely wasn't a thing he'd felt in what felt like ages.

She'd lost her son, gotten back a monster, and to top off the whole miserable situation, he was more guilt-ridden over that than he'd been over anything.

Despite him wanting to escape, and probably vanish out of her world again, though, some part of him was defiantly protesting leaving the two to this sham of a date. He didn't know what it was, but it was an /awful/ feeling.

"I, uh. Wow, I had no idea you guys knew each other, either! Or, were so close, for that matter." The word close come with an added scolding look Sans's way, before he turned his attention back to Toriel, faltering heavily. Wow, was /this/ a huge blow to his ever-lasting confident presentation, not to mention his ego. "...It's a, hah. Uh. A small world, huh?"

Toriel couldn't help but feel confused, though she kept a smile on the outside - they certainly seemed too awkward around each other for the connection to be as simple as that. Plus, that smile definitely did look a bit forced, to say the least. She glanced at Sans, who was still looking a bit...distant. Hummm. Hopefully this tension eased with time - or she could figure out exactly what it was that was making them so on-edge.

"...yeah, uh, really...really small world..." Sans muttered, the scolding look only adding to the neverending fear of 'hi soulmate, i'm STEP-DAD'. Nothing could work out right in this situation, could it? No. It couldn't. Not in the slightest. He was still praying for that sweet release of death, but it wasn't coming.

"I do hope that you two can remain friends then, if that's the case! We were just going to have tea, you must join us--" Toriel took her son's hand gently, smiling happily. Gonna find out why you're so on-edge, my child. Sans couldn't help but feel even worse, especially when she walked inside the cafe to put the order in, and left them both alone again.

"...." Sans just stayed silent, the thousand-yard stare on his face. Being Sans is suffering, man. And now he was definitely going to hear it, now that Tori was out of earshot...


	3. Slow-Burns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'You like potato and I like... potahto?  
> You like tomato and I like tomahto  
> Potato, potahto,  
> Tomato, tomahto.  
> Let's call the whole thing off
> 
> But oh, if we call the whole thing off  
> Then we must part;  
> And oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's got two thumbs and forgot to actually get around to posting this there for a while?  
> it's me. (apologies for the wait!)
> 
> thanks so much for all your kind words, though! it all really means a lot!

Like Sans had told him before-- sometimes you just had to know when to throw in the towel.

There's a long moment of silence between the two once Toriel was gone, before he actually faced the other, the written all over his face being an interesting mix of frustration and fear. Probably panic mixed in there somewhere, as well, given the situation.

"Okay, so. Things could be worse. Right? I mean." He cracked a desperate smile, a hand lifting to brush through his messy blonde locks, letting out a breath of a laugh. "So, you're on a date with my mom. That's pretty gross, but-- you didn't know she was my mom. She knows I'm alive and well again. That's terrible. Just, terrible. Aaaand... she doesn't know our deal yet. Not a fucking clue. That's--"

He stopped, his attention going back to Sans from where it'd fallen off to the side, his face contorting more towards the direction of anger this time around. "No, no, this is the worst it could get. Why are you going out with my mom?? Why could you not just-- oh, I don't know-- tell me her name when you were gushing about her that one night, so we could've avoided all THIS? She WILL find out eventually, she's got killer intuition about this kind of stuff, and-- God, I think I'm gonna be sick."

For once, Sans agreed with him - this is the worst it could get. "like i said, i had no fucking idea! it was our only out at the time, and i took it. trust me, we both feel pretty damn sick at this revelation, but...she hasn't found out yet, and as long as we're not idiots and let it slip again, we'll be fine, and can pretend that...thing doesn't even exist. if you've kept away from her for so long, then it shouldn't even matter that much. just deal with it for this one little time, and then we'll never intersect again."

Sans was going through every trick he'd committed to memory to get out of bad situations. Whatever. So he was her son? Fine, didn't matter. They were still different people, and from the sound of it, he'd let her think he was essentially gone forever, so it shouldn't even matter that much, if he didn't care enough to talk to her previously anyway. Hmph. Sans had to think positively - he could still salvage this, as long as his so-called soulmate didn't deliberately sabotage it. And there was a lurking fear that he might, honestly.

But for now, no. Not going to happen. He wasn't going to let it happen. "--but no matter what you say, i'm not gonna let that stop me. so. i'd say either put up with it, or just disappear again." A bit harsh, yes, but...he was frustrated. He'd found something to make him happy, and no, fate said, it's not going to happen - this was what happened to those who tried to escape their fate, the coincidences to get them to sync up again...the worst. "so just forget about the whole soulmate thing. as far as you know...i'm just another person, or in best case..."

And cue the most shit-eating, smug ass grin he'd ever had in his life. "...you'll get used to it, son."

  
Okay. As foreign as the thought came, almost uncomfortably, even, maybe Sans was right. He'd left so easily before, and why should he care about how this guy thinks of his mom? It was fine. He just needed to settle down, deal with the situation just like how he'd gotten himself out of several other uncomfortable ordeals before. This would be fine, right? Just have tea with his mom after all this time, and then effectively vanish again.  
It was a good plan. Of course, until Sans decided to open his mouth again, and the plan was wiped out of his attention as quickly as he'd put it together.

"Excuse me?" A look was tossed over to the slightly taller man, a look of sheer disbelief and outrage removing any sort of panic or contemplation Flowey had going on for him. He could've dealt with Sans trying to tell him to vanish again. It was whatever-- it wasn't like he had to actually listen.

But, calling him /son?/ Frankly, it looked like just the word set off a fuse in the guy.

"Hee hee. Yeah. Okay, sure." He lit up with a grin, the expression turning malicious. "You think you're really funny, don't you? Well I think you're /hilarious/-- because you're a JOKE. I don't know what you think you're getting up to, but my best advice is that you knock it off. And pronto. I'm not messing around here."

Sans paused for a moment.

And then he smiled.

"hi not messing around here. i'm dad."

He winked, the smug grin not disappearing for an instant.

Goddammit, Sans.

The fleeting pause was something that had him hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd gotten his point through. It would be a revolutionary time for all people trying to negotiate with idiots. Truly, a moment to be beheld.

But, nope. Not at all.

In fact, everything went the entire opposite direction. Straight down the failure chute, and right into the abyss of futile attempts at being a decent human being from there.

"Sans." Oh, this smile was getting painful. Then again, existing right now was painful. Existing in the same world as this guy was excruciating. "Buddy. Pal. Friend of mine. Because we're SUCH good friends, I'm gonna give you one last chance. Shut the hell up, or you're dead. Isn't that easy?"

Sans snorted. "that's cute. i've got years of experience on ya, kiddo. don't try it. you can rest assured that you're not the one who should be threatening me." To be fair, that was probably honestly the case - only emphasized by the scar over his left eye - though he didn't want to leave a bad impression on Tori, was the thing, and hurting her son was probably not a good move, but still...he was the one threatening him. Self defense. He was the good one here, yep.

"but hey, if you reaaaaally want to hurt me, go ahead. just don't say i didn't warn you. and i'm not dead, i'm dad, are you deaf?" And then he started legitimately chuckling. Oh, this was hilarious. This was funny beyond all belief. Being on the other side of the smug barrier was the best, now he knew why people always said being an asshole was a lot of fun.

Still, he was bracing himself, just in case.

Good GOD. If he thought his blood was boiling just a moment ago, if it were at all possible, he probably would've caught on fire right where he stood. This was ridiculous! Who did Sans think he was? Why did he have to put up with this whole new brand of stupidity?

Oh, wait.

He didn't have to put up with it.

The last "dad" was the final straw, before he really couldn't help himself anymore. A sound of pure anger escaped him. Only a fleeting moment later, not even entirely consciously, but more of a gut-reaction than anything, one of the hands beside him clenched into a fist.

Then, with as little thought as possible tossed into the mix, he lurched forwards, his arm pulling back for a swing. Hopefully for something that'd wipe that smug look off this guy's face.

Sans quickly dodged, an amused expression on his face. "oh, man. you tried, buddo, but you're not half as capable as you think you are. it's okay. you'll learn with time. comes with age." He winked, his hands still placed inside his jacket pockets, the expression on his face showing he wasn't taking this remotely seriously. "might as well stop while you're ahead. because if you keep going the way you're going, well..."

He clicked his tongue dismissively, his eyes turning far more hostile. "you're gonna have a bad time." The brunette honestly found the situation a lot more hilarious than he should've. "but hey. keep going. it's adorable to see ya try." He just laughed a bit more, and now a few people were staring, but that was alright. He was clearly the one in the right here, yep.

No, no one was in the right, they're both douchebags, but still.

Meanwhile, inside the cafe, Toriel was just finishing up paying, and giving the cashier a polite smile as she thanked her. Hopefully they were getting along out there...

No, they weren't, and this last remark was probably the kicker. "...actually, you could damn well just be jealous. did you want to call me 'daddy' in a different way?" And then he started laughing even more.

  
If Flowey had to listen to any of this any longer, and didn't manage to land at least /one/ hit on this guy, he was probably going to effectively lose his mind.

For the time being, though, he took to merely listening to the jeering, bewilderment and fury colliding in his expression. What was his /deal?/ Didn't he know when to quit? The primary mission right now left him feeling like he needed to /teach him/ when to quit. Or maybe at least get him to shut his mouth.

If only he were a little /faster./ Then, maybe, he could get that smug grin off his face.

He'd been just about to get another swing in, waiting for a good opportunity when Sans fell into his last bout of laughter, anger quickly shifting to disgust, his readied punch faltering heavily. He didn't even know what to say for a long few moments, either. He just sort of stood there, looking aghast for until he could muster out any words. "...God, you are /really/ the foulest being on this planet, aren't you? You're sick. Seriously."

"...huh, responding to that comes before knocking my block off? who knew." Sans mused. "guess the whole soulmate thing does make you very susceptible to that kind of teasing."

Little did they know that Toriel had stopped, standing not too far away, right during Sans' last bout of laughter. And that was about the time she made herself known. "...I've made quite the mistake, haven't I?" She asked darkly, looking between the two. "I leave you two alone for 5 minutes, and you're already at each others throats...and what was that you just said, Sans?" She looked at them with a disapproving frown, while she put the cups of tea down on a nearby table, and pulled two other chairs to sit across from her. "I believe the three of us need to have a talk. Now."

Sans had frozen, and started laughing nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "...tori, i didn't do anything that bad, it was--"

"Save it." Toriel intoned. "Now, I want the truth. The complete truth. You've both been keeping things from me, and I'm sure that at least one of you know that that is a horrible idea, do they not?"

Sans was halfway tempted to snicker like a child and stare at Flowey while whispering 'oooh, you're in trouble' before Toriel stared at him as well.

"And if the other one of you does not know, they're about to learn. I'll let you both decide where to start on this, but a good place to start would be as to commenting on the 'soulmates' thing."

 


	4. Bitter Thorns and Motherly Scorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Mother always said be kind to strangers,  
> But she doesn't know what they destroy.  
> I can feel the clear and present dangers,  
> When she learns that the boy...
> 
> Has got me pulled in a new direction,  
> But I think I like it.'

Flowey was about to take up a new bout of fury, maybe even go in for another punch, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was stopped dead in his tracks. Not by anyone trying to break up the fight, something that he'd thought might happen for a fleeting moment, no, but instead? Something far, far worse.

It was Toriel. Apparently, she was still as sneaky as she'd been when he was a child, tuning into arguments and catching just enough to give both parties a stern talking to.

"Mom, it's not--" Any protest was stomped out like a dying flame, a frown pulling at his lips as he was, of all things, getting scolded. Wasn't he too old for this? He was in college now. He had a place of his own to live. Shouldn't he be free from at least some degree of motherly scorn?

Nope. Not at all.

In fact, even though reluctance was all over his posture, he took a seat at the table, taking his cup of tea and murmuring a fleeting thanks as she went on. A quick drink was taken, before he straightened his posture, setting the cup down and letting out a breath. Definitely a good show that he was about to admit to all those truths that he'd been hiding.

Except, he didn't at all. Instead, if he couldn't _hit_ Sans, he'd do something much, much worse.

"He called me 'son' and said he was going to be my step-dad. _Then,_ tried to say that I should call him 'daddy' in a different way. It was awful. He's awful." If his mother's eyes weren't more than likely right on him, he would've tossed a smug grin Sans's way, but for now, he'd have to contain himself. "As for the whole 'soulmate' thing, though, I'm pretty sure it's just a... big mistake, you know?"

Oh, Asriel, you're never free from motherly scorn. No one is.

As Sans sat down with a sigh, taking a sip of his own tea, he nearly choked when the blonde spoke up. Why, that little-- "he's lying to make himself look better, don't buy it, tori. he threatened to kill me, and he kept being insufferably smug this whole time." He frowned. "plus, he actually did try to punch me...but, y'know. i didn't let him hurt himself trying....but, the soulmates thing....yeah, it's probably just a huge mistake."

"Enough. From both of you." Toriel massaged her forehead, already getting a bit of a headache. "My goodness. You both need to calm down and stop deliberately antagonizing each other. Especially if you are, as you both have apparently admitted, soulmates. Was that what this was about? This whole outing was an attempt to beat fate?"

Sans' frown changed from irritated to simply sad. "...partially, i guess, but i do genuinely like you, tori. i...i'm sorry." He muttered. "i had no idea...any of this would happen."

Toriel breathed out...and then in. "I don't think any of us believed this would happen, but if that's the case, then..." She took a look into her teacup, and then...laughed. "It's funny, you both remind me of how my own soulmate and I acted at that age! Fighting all the time, bickering, and yet somehow you can't stay away from each other...I can't say it's exactly normal, but it's not surprising to me, at least."

Sans felt a deep sense of loss sway within him. Oh. They...reminded her of...oh. Haaaah. That meant this relationship was DOA, wasn't it? ...Yep.

"It's still not the best for you to escalate it into physical violence, but...I'm sure you'll both learn. You're both very sweet at heart, I know." It hurt that her gentle smile was now directed to Sans being with...uggghhhh.

Flowey couldn't help but fall into a huff, taking another long sip of his tea. He couldn't believe this-- what was supposed to be a nice walk home had gone all the way to, somehow, him getting chided by his mom? Especially about, of all things, his reluctance to give in to whatever horrible ploy fate had set-up for the two of them.

Of all the things she could do, though, she was... laughing about it. He couldn't see what was funny about it, _especially_ not able to find anything even remotely humorous at her reasoning. "

Augh, _Mom._ " He let out a groan, setting his cup aside and slumping back against the chair, his expression going from annoyed to almost troubled. "That's not really good news. I mean, not that this whole mess is good news at _all,_ but... We all know how it went with _your_ soulmate, so what's the point in trying? It's useless."

He wasn't even slightly about to touch at the sweet at heart notion, merely giving a skeptical look over to Sans, a sigh escaping him. He'd tried to desperately weasel his way out of the idea, but there really wasn't any escaping this awful soulmate business, was there? No matter how much they tried, the universe seemed bound and determined to stick them together-- even going as far as botching a date!

It was too much to be pure coincidence, and that was slowly but surely starting to dawn on him.

"...You've really become a pessimist as you've gotten older, haven't you?" Toriel sighed. "Yes, we know how it went, but that's no guarantee for you both. At least don't bother to hide that fact from everyone anymore - it's a lot less difficult when you accept what cards you've been dealt. I'm not saying they're exactly the right cards - mine certainly weren't, but it's better than constantly protesting and fighting...and scaring everyone who has no idea what is going on."

Sans let out a long sigh. Yeah, this was....constantly happening until they accepted it, wasn't it? He'd liked to have just tried anything to escape, but he'd known from the start that those rarely turned out well, and his lot in life was set. He had gone from smugness to annoyance to depression to simply...calm acceptance.

"You don't have to immediately decide you're in love, you both need to realize. Just try to see past each others flaws instead of amplifying them." She gently smiled. "You're both young, and even if this has happened, you don't know what is ahead. Perhaps you'll at least be friends, since you're both at least a constant in each others lives now. Just don't think of it as a bad thing, and it makes it a lot easier."

Sans just took another sip of his tea, finally shrugging. Welp. To be fair, they'd immediately started the whole thing with a negative reaction, he had to admit that much. Maybe calm acceptance was for the best, at least for now.

Had it been anyone else spouting all this at him, Flowey easily would've taken to insults and bitterness, but... Well, it seemed like after all this time, Toriel still had a way of getting him to pipe down and pay attention. Even if it's blatantly begrudgingly-given attention that didn't include any sort of eye-contact, either.

He wasn't to the point of calm acceptance yet, not by a long shot. No, there was still a lot of resentment that was to be had for the whole ordeal, even if Toriel was absolutely right. It was significantly less outspoken bitterness, though, thankfully enough. Just something he needed to sort out on his own time, and hopefully come to terms with, as much as he hated the thought of it.

If he were some kind of soulless monster, he would've _probably_ just laughed in his mother's face at the notions, too.

Unfortunately, though, there was very much a soul in there, and each of her words went heeded. A sigh was given, and the tea was picked back up, one more drink being taken before he could even remotely find something good to say.

"...Alright. I guess you've got a point. If it doesn't work, though, you're _definitely_ getting an 'I told you so' from me." The remark was almost bizarrely half-hearted, as far as everything else he'd snapped towards anyone else went. Then again, though, this _was_ his parent. There were just some things one couldn't bring themselves to do, and at a time like this, blatant snapping wasn't going to do him any good. "...Speaking of all this soulmate stuff, how's Dad been? Do you talk to him at all anymore?"

"Oh, I..." Toriel wasn't willing to admit even to herself that she did still enjoy talking to Asgore, after the long time they'd spent never talking after the divorce. Some part of her still did love him, deep down, though if she was ever prompted to state her feelings on him she'd have a barrage of insults ready ranging from 'he's careless and good for nothing' to the unexpected-from-Toriel 'I'm really glad I keyed his car before he left, I probably could've stood breaking a few windows too'. (Like mother, like son, honestly.) "...yes, he's doing fine. He's asked about you a few times. I've told him that I don't know. We still talk sometimes."

Sans couldn't help but remember his own father - he wondered if the famous Dr. Gaster had time to wonder about his own two sons in the midst of his developing new technology and writing thesis after thesis. Probably not. He hadn't cared when they were around, and when Sans had taken Papyrus and left - well, he hadn't commented on that, either. His last words to him were 'stay safe', though he'd never know either way, probably. Papyrus missed him at times, but Papyrus was only a kid when they left - he hardly had many memories with his dad, so Sans wondered at times why he even cared -- on top of the fact that Sans...well. Sans had been going to college to become a scientist (for theoretical physics mostly) before he'd abruptly dropped out and started working several jobs to help Papyrus stay happy. He never kept those long, but...it...it wasn't a big deal. They were making it okay.

A glance over during her pause was taken to Sans, the hesitation not exactly resounding as anything good. He remembered the day they'd split up almost perfectly. Things being left on the lawn, some fruitless reasoning given, all while he discreetly watched through his bedroom window. It was surprising that they still spoke at all, really-- especially after everything that happened. But, to hear he was doing good was a relief, at the very least.

Her having to tell him that she just 'doesn't know' as far as things went did leave him with a pang of guilt, though. Leaving _had_ been his best option at the time-- the home wasn't anything it'd used to have been, he was left alone more often than not, and the whole thing was a mess. And, sure, if he would've stayed any longer, the present-day Flowey might've been worse than he already was.

But... that didn't mean he didn't occasionally regret it whenever he thought too long on it. It was better left a thing that he just didn't think on too much at all.

"...That's good." He offered the faintest of smiles, glancing back to Sans. Nope, he needed something else to put his focus on. His mindset was falling quickly from smug and arrogant to more guilt-ridden and uneasy, and he _had_ to find something to keep appearances up. Anything would do right now, really. "Hey, Bonehead, you in there? Earth to Sans. Mom, I think your date might be braindead. He's gone. There's nothing we can do."

Toriel still felt bad about it - she always had, in truth. The arguing had just been worse after Chara's death. She blamed him, and every time she accused him, he just...didn't bother to fight back. He wasn't capable of it, no, not anymore, which had just made her get more frustrated - at what, she wasn't certain, but it'd led to her distancing herself from her husband, who still had - even up to the night before their divorce - given her a gentle kiss on the cheek when he believed she was asleep with a quiet 'I love you.'

It was difficult. It had only gotten worse when she was alone. She'd taken up teaching again just to feel less alone, and the fellow teachers at her school...mostly knew her for being the woman who blew up at the mayor and had a messy divorce with him, so most of them weren't exactly eager to make friends. The few that were ended up doing so out of pity. Sans was probably the first friend she'd made after the whole thing that actually genuinely wanted to be friends with her, and she appreciated the friendship. She'd partially gone on the date in hopes of not losing that once more, even though she was still very very reluctant to think affectionately of anyone, and...it certainly wasn't going to work when she was already hoping that he'd be able to make her son happy instead - something she knew she hadn't been able to ever truly accomplish.

Sans had been lost in thought when Flowey's voice snapped him out of it. "i'm--i'm awake, don't worry too much about me, buttercup." He grinned. Even if he was facing the awkward strands of guilt that seemed to linger in his mind most of the time, him being addressed seemed to snap him out of it fairly well...even if it looked like both of the others were facing some...heavy issues they were trying to disguise behind smiles. It was...concerning. And yeah, he actually was concerned for the both of them, surprisingly enough - and he himself didn't question why.

The horrible nickname got a roll of his eyes easily, one that he didn't even begin to hide from his mother, though instead of remarking on it, he merely let a snicker pull at his lips, shrugging and leaning his arms against the table. "Good. If you wind up knocking out on us, you're either gonna wind up drowned in tea, or we'll leave you here. I'd have to make sure that Papyrus knows you'd be sacrificed to the Tea Gods, too. It's a great purpose."

There was a pause, a moment of unsureness of what to say. Perhaps he... shouldn't have asked about his dad. Not that he didn't want to know about how he was doing-- there just felt like there was so much being left unsaid, and things he didn't know _how_ to say.

"So... I never even knew this tea place existed here. I might have to come back at some point, or something." Was it obvious he was grasping for straws to avoid those more grim subjects? Probably. He'd be damned if he wasn't going to at least try, though. "I mean-- hey, it's pretty close to my place, too, so that's pretty great. Not that I can really afford this kind of stuff right now, but, y'know. Maybe I'll keep it in mind for special occasions. There's nothing like getting some hot leaf water to deal with bad times, right?"

  
Toriel couldn't help but crack a bit of a smile at the fact that they both had affectionate nicknames already. Awwww. She's mentally joined the group of people who ship them along with Papyrus and Alphys and probably Undyne.

"tori, don't let buttercup here sacrifice me, please." Sans smirked a bit. "you'll protect me, right?"

"I promise nothing. What happens shall happen, and if it ends in that, you shall not be forgotten." Toriel responded, and Sans stared between the two with an expression that practically read 'yep, you two are definitely related.'

"...you two are mean." Sans pouted...before snorting and grinning again, and for a brief moment, he almost felt like he actually was comfortable. He had to admit, when his soulmate wasn't being a smug dick...he was kinda cute--ooookay whoa there Sansyboy that's not a thought to have. That's not a thought that's going to happen we're forgetting about that that never happened.

A small pause, and Sans nodded. "yeah, my other friend alphys showed this place to me before, since this is around where she lives too." It had been after a marathon of the entirety of Tokyo Mew Mew, and Sans had nearly broken from that. He loved Alphys like a little sister but dear god the cutesy-cute was too much.

At the same time, he'd realized that that was just a distraction from the darker things that had loomed over before, and...it was like sporadic moods - one moment he was actually enjoying himself, and then he realized what the situation had been like before, and...oh. Hmmm. Ah well.

The agreement that, absolutely, his mom was still on his side put a genuine grin on his face. It was still a smug one, like his other ones, sure, but there was something joking to the smug tone it held this time around. He would've probably high-fived her, while he was it, but for the time being, his attention was back on what Sans was going on about, brows lifting slighting in interest.

"Oh, I think I've heard Papyrus talk about her before-- she's the one that binge-watches the anime and cries about it sometimes, right?" He couldn't wipe the smirk off his face. Of course, until his expression fell into something more thoughtful once more, brows crumpling as he tried to recall something.

"Before I left, actually, he was going on about her and whoever that Undyne person he takes about _constantly_ going over there, or something of the likes." He gave a shrug, unable to keep himself from making a face as he spoke up once more. "I just hope for their sake he isn't going to be cooking. They know about all that, right? It'd be cruel and unusual to leave someone in the dark about that, you know."

"yep, that's her...and they know. undyne's the one who taught him to 'cook'." The air quotes being obvious. "for all it's worth, papyrus doesn't cause house fires. undyne, on the other hand...welp. the few times she doesn't burn everything down...she tried to make me a sandwich once, i ate a bite of it, and next thing i knew, i was sitting in a hospital bed. scared the crap out of my bro." That was a true story. She'd apologized afterwards but it made Sans rethink a lot of his life decisions.

"You certainly have a unique group of friends, Sans." Toriel giggled. "I do hope they stay alright...and alive with something like that."

"they're aware of what they're getting into. pap's built up a resistance against undyne's, at least. alphys...probably has too, but she's usually smart enough to not let them near anything that would be dangerous." Usually. That entire incident had happened at Alphys' house. And that was how she learned not to trust Papyrus and Undyne in any kitchen. "ah well, 'least it's not us this time." He snickered.

"...Did you two almost intentionally poison yourselves with that sort of--" Toriel began, and Sans raised a hand.

"almost, i kinda tricked buttercup into it. hehehehe."

"Sans. That's not nice. You're making yourself look like a far better sacrifice." Toriel chastised, and Sans faked a hurt expression.

"...it was funny at the time."

"...Jeez. That's really awful. I didn't know anyone could be that bad at cooking." Flowey looked almost shocked at the notion-- after the hell of a night of stomach turmoil just Papyrus's spaghetti put him through, he couldn't even imagine how awful his instructor's must've been. Especially if only a sandwich landed Sans in the hospital, of all things.

Hey, Toriel agreeing to the whole joke of a sacrifice notion was something else, though. Now _that_ was something that definitely lit up his mood, that was for sure.

"I'm not going to forget it-- and I'm going to get you back someday, you know that, right?" A grin was shot Sans's way. "You can't say you don't deserve it, either-- I missed three classes over that!"

"okay, yeah, i deserve it, there's no doubt about that, but now you're just gonna hold that over my head. i'm going to end up being paranoid." Sans frowned, sticking his tongue out childishly. "i'm not even that mean. usually."

In an interesting reversal, Toriel now felt like the third wheel, or like she was chaperoning this whole thing. She was tempted to speak up about that, but no, despite smiling with amusement at the two going from at each others throats to actually laughing and joking around, she just shook her head and hoped that they'd stay in the more civil and...kind of adorable section - on top of being so glad that they were both happy, even if they hadn't fully realized the shift themselves, probably.

"And that's your fault. Should'a thought about that sooner." A nonchalant shrug was given, a smirk tossed his way before it hit him that, without realizing it, they'd sort of abandoned his mom as far as conversation went. During what was supposed to be a date of her own, at that.

A smile was tossed her way, an apology mixed in with it. "We'll discuss revenge n' stuff later, though. I guess. I mean, unless you want to toss some ideas at me, Mom. I've never heard of teamwork revenge, but I bet it'd work out pretty great."

"oh no. tori, don't help plot against me. don't betray me." Sans jokingly pleaded, looking at Toriel. Toriel contemplated for a few minutes. Hmm.

"I'm sure it's relatively unfair, but you were the one who started this war, Sans...and it's fair enough to make it even. Let's see, what have I done before to settle things like this in my youth...oh!" She glanced at Sans, lowering her voice to a whisper and leaning over next to her son. Sans tried to listen in, and then frowned when he was unsuccessful.

By the look on her face, though, it was probably something to fear. "And that, my child, is the perfect method of revenge."

Sans gulped. "....it's not that bad, is it?"

"Oh. You'll find out." It was at that moment Sans realized where Flowey had gotten his terrifying smile from.

Toriel giving in to helping him definitely seemed to spark some excitement in him, his grin softening to something more interested as she leaned in and started murmuring to him. The longer she went on, though, the more inspiration seemed to light up his face, as well as a smile that couldn't lead to anything good.

"...Wow, Mom, I knew you'd have some good ideas, but _that's_ incredible." He beamed, having to tone down some eagerness in his voice, especially when Sans's question was tossed to the two of them. Before he could give an answer, though, Toriel beat him to it-- easily leaving Flowey looking almost starry-eyed. He couldn't have answered it better, himself, and when it came to being one hell of a sinister plan maker?

Well, mothers knew best, it seemed. At least, it dawned on him how similar they really were, even how much he'd missed being able to talk to her.

Despite them definitely needing to iron out some tense topics between the two, he was already glad they'd gotten back in touch, even if the situation that'd gotten them back together started out awful at best.

"All in due time, Sans, don't worry." Flowey reached over to give his hand a little reassuring pat, struggling to bite back the grin that threatened to pull at his lips. "I know, it's gonna be tough to wait for that time to come, but trust me. It'll be more worth the wait than you know."


	5. How To Succeed In Pranking (And Shipping) Without Really Trying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ''Where will I find a treasure,  
> Like the love from a heart of gold?  
> Ever trusting and sweat,  
> And a-waiting my pleasure,  
> Rain or shine,  
> Hot or cold.
> 
> Wealth far beyond the measure,  
> Maybe here in my hands I'll hold,  
> Of it where will I find that one treasure of treasures,  
> The love from a heart of gold?'

That did not reassure Sans in the slightest, and only terrified him more, honestly. Tori was one to watch out for, and he had had no idea to begin with...now he did. Poor Sans. The Dreemurr family are indeed the champions of revenge, especially Toriel and Flowey. Some part of him definitely realized that these were the two people where his affections lied...and where his affections were supposed to lie. There was no escape.

Though he hadn't truly realized the magnitude until a few days later, when he'd woken up, gone to brush his teeth...and realized his hair was - instead of its usual chestnut brown - now the same color as the jacket he always wore. Blue. He had blue hair. Okay, well, that wasn't much. He tried to shrug it off before he put the toothbrush with toothpaste in his mouth...and quickly spat it out - the fact that he hadn't been paying attention and his toothpaste had been replaced by a very similar looking mayonnaise paste was an annoyance.

Sans couldn't help but have a bitter smile when he found a small sticky note reading 'Having fun yet?' on the mirror. Oh, there was going to be revenge for this revenge. There was most definitely going to be revenge for this revenge. Sans just sighed, and put on his usual t-shirt,shorts, and jacket after finding his actual toothpaste, brushing his teeth, and walking back to his room.

He couldn't help but chuckle darkly when he found another sticky note reading 'In this world, it's prank or get pranked' on the back of his jacket.

This was good, but Sans Gaster isn't defeated that easily. Not by a long shot.

Oh, as far as Flowey was concerned, today - and maybe even the next few days - were going to be a wild, merciless few days for Sans.

The dying of the hair had been easy enough, actually. He'd managed to enlist Papyrus's help with that much, convincing him that it'd be a favor for his brother, and a nice kind of surprise. The rest, of course, was then his doing. Toothpaste was swapped out for mayonnaise, sticky notes were placed, whoopie cushions were left under couch cushions-- and that didn't even account for things that were either out of place, or missing entirely.

It'd taken far longer than he'd thought it would, sure, and yes, he was /exhausted/ for the single morning class he had all week. But, was it worth it in the end?

Oh, absolutely. It was /so/ worth it.

By the time his classes let out, and he caught up with route back to the Gaster home with the tallest brother, who was currently going on and on about how pleased he was with the job they did last night. Not to mention how much Sans was "sure to love it," and that they "definitely needed to do things like that again more often!"

Papyrus, without even realizing it, couldn't have been more right about that at all. If everything was going as well as he was hoping they would, this was /definitely/ going to be something that happened more often.

Not wasting any time with trailing after Papyrus into the home, shedding his jacket easily, he took a glance around. None of his more subtle doings seemed to be out of place yet, something he wasn't sure if it was a relief, or something to worry about. He'd well since made himself at home in their house, though, making his way into the kitchen to grab himself some water.

It was only a matter of time until Sans showed up, after all, and he had to decide if he were going to play the innocent role, or admit to his actions. There was so much option there, it really was a tough call.

Sans had gone down the stairs, his eye twitching, a very bitter grin still on his face. He wordlessly hopped onto the couch, only to hear a loud 'PBBBBBTTTHH' when he sat down. "...really." He said flatly. "oldest trick in the book and--"

Papyrus had been giggling when he saw his brother, though, so Sans held back a bit of his anger for now. "DID YOU LIKE OUR SURPRISE, BROTHER? WE WORKED VERY HARD ON IT." Oh, Flowey had even enlisted Papyrus into this?! No fair!

"...yeah, sure, bro." Sans replied noncommittally. "it's...uh...i didn't expect it."

"NYEHEHEHE! TRULY, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM THE NUMBER ONE PRANKING ASSISTANT IN THE WORLD!" Papyrus happily gloated, sitting next to Sans on the couch and smiling a bit further when his own seat had made the 'PBBBBTH' noise.

Sans ran his hand through his newly-blue hair in mild frustration, still keeping up a small smile with his eye only twitching occasionally to show that he was frustrated - though he settled for turning on the TV (after forcing the batteries from the remote that inevitably fell out when he picked it up back into the remote). As soon as Flowey walked out, Sans would be giving him a very bitterly amused stare, as if to say 'you won this round, but the next one is mine.'

Before long, after he contained some excitement to see the result of the onslaught, he stepped out, comfortably wedging himself into his corner of the couch-- no noise coming from it, minus maybe a sad wheezing sound from a cushion just a little off-center where he'd left it. Taking a brief drink of the water, he sat it aside, finally meeting the gaze of the older brother for the first time since he'd gotten back in the house.

"Howdy, Sans! Aren't you looking like an absolute ray of sunshine today." A smug grin was given his way, amusement written all over his face as he got cozy. Despite it being all the basis of a prank... now that he got a look at it, blue actually wasn't a bad color for Sans's hair. He'd at least given him the mercy of picking a color that was easy on the eyes-- even if that easiness probably had him stuck admiring his own work a little too much, but that was beside the point. It wasn't like he was going to be saying anything out loud about it, anyways.

"Aw, c'mon, don't look so glum." He let out a mock of a reassuring coo, sitting up to try to show as much enthusiasm as possible. "I /would/ say the worst of it's over, but... you know. I'm not sure what all you've run into yet."

The annoyance in Sans' face only grew. "i'm going to get you back for this." He stated - not as if it were a threat, just a simple fact. Buttercup had gone overboard, and in doing so had started a war he could not possibly control. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little 'clever' string of pranks were about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held back just a bit. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price. You're getting pranked to hell and back, buddo.

He immediately began to brainstorm ways to create revenge. There was going to be revenge...somehow. He'd have to figure out a way, though, and he'd need to make it good. At least good enough to compete with this mess. Or, in best case possible, top it. He wasn't going to lose. Not happening. Sans was never the loser of a prank war. Many have...not really tried because he hadn't really been in one before, but he wasn't about to start losing.

"...how much of this house did you trap? most of it?"

"Suuuure you are, buddy. Keep telling yourself that." He snickered, lifting a hand to push some of his hair out of his face. How was Sans expecting to prank him back, anyhow? It wasn't like he could get into his apartment-- he didn't even know where it was, as that. He hadn't ever led anyone back to his home, anyways, so that was out of the question. Maybe he'd try to pull something during his visits? Another food-based prank, perhaps? He wasn't sure.

It was an interesting thought, seeing if Sans would be able to do anything to top the masterpiece he's worked out here.

"Hm? How much?" There was a fleeting moment of thought, a hand lifting to his mouth. "I wouldn't say /most/ of the house is trapped... Just the important parts! So, I'd say, at most. Half. Maybe a third. You'll figure it out when you find it."

Dammit. This was going to be difficult, and he was very likely to unfortunately encounter more than a few surprises for the rest of the day. Which was just splendid. Fantastic. He sank into his seat, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head - always something he did when he was frustrated or humiliated. It'd have to be unique. And it'd probably have to be done here, since yes, he had no idea where he lived, but he was going to do it.

Somehow. Even though currently Sans was in hoodietown, frowning, because he was upset. Tori had to have told him how to do most of this, he knew, but it was still frustrating that he got the smug grin and remarks from Flowey. Hmph. Papyrus had taken to peeking over at Sans.

"...BROTHER? ARE YOU OKAY?"

"lemmiealone, i'm thinking."

"OKAY. IF YOU SAY SO."

Thinking, in this case, meant haphazardly brainstorming because this was not going to be easy no matter what he managed to try to pull off. Ugh.

The sight before him almost sent the shortest member of the group into a fit of laughter, but for the time being, a few snickering sounds were the most he let out. For now, though, he merely took up the remote, putting on one of those Ghibli films that Papyrus had subjected him to so many of, he slowly but surely got ridiculously attached to them as the weeks went by.

Spirited Away, so far, absolutely had to be his favorite. Which was actually what he was turning on at this very moment.

"He'll be fine." He waved a dismissive hand with his reassurance, glancing over to Papyrus and offering him a grin. Much less of a smug one than he'd flashed to Sans, that was for sure. "He's just trying to come up with something better than we did. Which, my friend, is /impossible./"

Before long, though, Flowey managed to fall pretty goddamn silent as the movie stole his attention. That lack of sleep from the previous night was fighting to catch up with him, too, leaving his eyes heavy, his hands frequently making their way up to try to rub them awake once more. Ugh, he hadn't stayed up /that/ late, had he? Apparently, his sleep schedule didn't take kindly even remotely to being altered, not even the slightest bit.

"Hey, Pap, d'you guys have anything with caffeine in it around here? I'm not gonna make it."

Papyrus had let out a quiet 'nyehehehe' at Flowey's response. Yes, it certainly was impossible, because the great Papyrus was excellent at japing other people...and so was Flowey. Sans had remained silent, thinking, barely looking up to watch the movie that he'd seen quite a few times by this point - Alphys had teased him once about watching 'entry level anime', but then she'd shown him End of Evangelion. The confusion he'd experienced was apparently nothing compared to more advanced anime.

So no, he'd be happy just sticking to Ghibli, though he preferred Howl's Moving Castle. Eh. This was good too. He glanced over at Flowey, and immediately, at the sound of his tired voice, had to resist every urge in his body to grin manically. Oh yes. Go to sleep. Rest, little Buttercup.

"I THINK SANS DRANK THE LAST SODA THIS MORNING."

"yep."

Sans had lied, of course, Papyrus was genuinely unsure. But Sans kept an annoyed expression - good thing he was decent at acting like he was peeved - and simply waited. It was only a matter of time now.

...Now where'd he put that blue marker?

The frustrated groan that left Flowey died off into a huff just about as quickly as it'd started up, a frown pulling at his lips. Great. Perfect. As far as he was concerned, this was probably the worst fate that could happen to him today in particular. Not because it'd even occurred to him that Sans might prank him while he'd been crashed out, no-- his mind was too unfocused to pick up on something like that.

Admittedly, he just despised sleeping anywhere that wasn't the safety of his own, old bed in his apartment. But, judging by how heavy his eyes were getting, that merely wasn't an option right now.

This might've been the luckiest break that Sans could've got in midst a prank-war, because by the time the movie hit it's halfway point, Flowey was out like a light. Any sort of smugness or malice on his face melted to something remarkably calm for him, and unfortunately for him, he wasn't going to be budging anytime soon.

Poor guy. He didn't deserve this. (Even though he absolutely had it coming, and probably deserved it for all the still-hidden traps littered around the house.)

Sans had glanced over, and once he saw that Flowey was asleep by the halfway point, got a very malicious grin on his face. Quietly, he walked back up to his room, grabbed a blue marker, and uncapped it, letting out a small chuckle. He then quietly proceeded back down the stairs, twirling the marker around in his hand, which was admittedly impressive-looking. Well. What was the great artist known as Sans to create today?

Papyrus was glancing between his brother and his friend, slowly catching onto what was going to happen, and watching with interest.

It was about then that Sans leaned in, hoping his soulmate was a bit of a heavy sleeper when completely exhausted, drawing a circle on his face...and then...petals. Pretty little buttercup flowerface. Yes. We didn't know how we'd get here but we did Flowey the Flower once more. He couldn't help but snicker at his handiwork--and that was when his soulmate's eyes opened, and he froze, being only a few inches from his face.

Papyrus was glancing between the two with wide eyes, looking like everything he was just watching was a particularly interesting portion of a romantic comedy. He even - very subtly - made a small motion putting his hands together. Kiss. Do it. (They wouldn't, but Papyrus would've adored it if they did.)

The sleep that he had managed to get, thankfully enough, was... really nice, actually. The Gaster family had somehow managed to attain the most comfortable couch imaginable, even with him dozing off slightly propped-up. Maybe that was the lack of sleep the previous night talking, though, he couldn't be sure.

It was a lovely rest, absolutely, until finally the feeling of something touching his face had him stirring, bleary eyes opening and squinting to focus for a few fleeting seconds.

...Oh. And, barely any distance away from him was apparently where Sans decided to take to hovering.. It took a few seconds to register in his still sleep-fogged mind, but once he finally managed to come to his senses, a face was made at him, something akin to a mix of nervousness and annoyance.

"...Jeez. You don't have a good grasp on personal space, do you?" He lifted a hand, pushing Sans back as one would do if they trying to quietly open a door, sitting up and stifling a yawn. For the moment, and luckily for Sans, he hadn't even remotely begun to notice that he'd been written all over. He just needed to wake himself up again, after that little power-nap. Fifteen minutes or so should be enough to get him going again, right? That's what he was hoping for, anyways.

Papyrus looked remotely disappointed for a few brief seconds. Awwww. The ship wasn't sailing just yet. But he quickly returned to his usual cheerful smile as his brother got back to his seat, trying to shrug it off. That was...too close. Too close in terms of ruining the prank, and, uh...

Just too close period. Sans had kept his cool, mostly, though he was still amused provided he glanced back at his handiwork. Hahaha. He was really...blossoming into a good prankster, though it was only beginning to stem into something hilariously interesting. He'd folded his arms back behind his head, a content smile on his face.

Sans did wonder a bit when he'd notice, but still. He'd made it too easy for him. Far, far too easy.

At first, Flowey just assumed that maybe, just maybe, Sans was trying to mess with him. Maybe he'd budged and shown he was going to wake up soon, and Sans saw it as a chance to give him some discomfort? He wasn't sure. His half-awake mind wasn't having an easy time of adding up what exactly just happened, and no part of him even remotely caught on just yet.

Except... once he took a look over, that content smile didn't spell anything out good for him. Especially not with the vaguely stressed look he'd seen right before he'd dozed off.

"...What're you looking so smug about? Getting too close to a guy when he's waking up doesn't really count as a prank, you know." He crumpled his brows in confusion, a hand lifting to idly rub at his face. The marker didn't smear much, having well dried by now, but it faded the smallest bit where he rubbed, at least. "Actually, it's more weird than anything. How long were you even there?"

"few minutes. not too long. that wasn't my original plan, but hey, at least it was vaguely uncomfortable...bud." Sans looked at Papyrus out of the corner of his eye, who was caught between 'dammit, Sans, no puns' and 'pfffnyehehehe.' "though i'm sure when you catch on, you won't really be-leaf what happened."

It was at that moment that Sans had realized that Papyrus had been toying with his phone off and on, and had taken a picture of the whole mess, right before Flowey woke up - mostly because he sent Sans the picture. Even if it did have them being awkwardly close. HAHAHA. Best little bro. Managed to surprise him, but that was more than able to make up for him helping Flowey with the string of his stupid pranks earlier.

And Papyrus had sent it to almost everyone in his contacts list - which was one thing Sans DIDN'T realize.

With every pun that was relentlessly tossed at him, ones that seemingly had no basis, Flowey was left more and more confused looking, brows crumpling and a frown pulling at his lips. Did he miss some kind of inside joke? What was the deal with all these plant puns? No matter how hard he tried to wrack his thoughts for something that might've been the source of it, other than the god-forsaken nickname for him Sans wouldn't drop for whatever reason.

There was a skeptical look shot his way, a moment of silence passing before his phone was taken out, but before he could open it, he had to stop and stare for a moment. Squint a little at the screen. Eventually, just open up the front-facing camera.

Oh. /Oh./ So, that's what that little rat did. Now, everything made sense.

"Gee, I didn't realize you were feeling artsy!" Despite the smile offered Sans's way, there was nothing but bitterness in the gesture, a hand lifting to try to scrub it off. "I expected something better from you, though-- wait. What kind of marker is this?"

If it wasn't obvious by the look on his face, or the rubbing that wasn't exactly doing much good, it'd finally hit him that /maybe/ the prank wasn't nearly as pathetic as he'd thought it was. Even though he was the one that started this prank war, and technically had this coming, he was definitely going to get Sans back for this.

Sans grin only grew as he started outright laughing, twirling the marker around in his hand. "one that's gonna take more than that to get off, that's for sure. hehehehehehe." He was very, very content with his revenge. Cute little obviously-annoyed buttercup. "there's my revenge. thanks for makin' it pretty easy, too." He winked.

Meanwhile, Papyrus was looking between the two as if he had a feeling that neither of them would let this go that easily.  
A group text.  
'...DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A PRANK WAR BETWEEN YOUR BROTHER AND HIS SOULMATE? I THINK IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE FROM HERE.' 

'Pray for not-death (´• ω •`)  
it's kind of cute though does anyone else see that??  
Too bad Sans probly wont use this time to humiliate him fully  
by making a move and then excusing it as a prank if it goes badly  
but thats Sans for ya wwwww (◕‿◕)♡  
i saw that not too long ago on some romance anime i cant remember which' 

'IS THAT A THING THAT HAPPENS? I KNOW MY BROTHER WILL NOT ACT UPON ANYTHING' 

'we should have an entire group  
just push them onto a boat  
start singing kiss the girl  
and sans would still jump into the water and swim to safety to escape it' 

'THEY'D BOTH DO THAT, PROBABLY. ): ' 

'no fair this is gonna be hard  
but sans deserves to be happy  
so we should help them  
anyone else think this is a good idea?'

"Augh, you /prick./" He let out an annoyed groan, licking his thumb and not letting up on the scrubbing, a glare being directed his way at the notion of revenge. "I gotta say, that's some pretty lame revenge. Waiting until a guy goes to sleep to write on his face? That's weak. For shame."

As far as the group text went, though, the lack of ideas easily went noticed as she got texts. And, honestly, with as much as Undyne of all people had been keeping up with it, what kind of friend would she be if she didn't try to help at all?

'Oh my GOD, we HAVE to help them??  
It's not gonna happen for them on their own. Probably.  
Listen, I have the best idea ever. It's foolproof.  
We just gotta take them and lock them in a room!!!  
Desperate times call for desperate measures in locked rooms!!  
Either that, or we put them through ONE HELL OF A SITUATION.  
Hard times bring people closer right???'

"eh. i'm too lazy to do much more." Sans shrugged, grinning. "still is funny, so i'm pretty happy with it." That was probably the truth. He could've thought of something better if he wasn't so lazy, but he was. Constantly lazy and constantly exhausted. So whatever. Still worked for him.

'KNOWING MY BROTHER AND FLOWEY...  
THEY'D PROBABLY END UP TRYING TO BREAK THE DOOR DOWN.  
DESPITE EITHER OF THEM NOT EXACTLY BEING STRONG ENOUGH TO DO THAT.'

'we'd walk in and they'd be knocked out wwwww  
boyfriends: 0; door: 1  
still they're really desperate it sounds so putting them through something severe actually might be the only option we have'

'I GUESS SO. WHAT DID YOU HAVE IN MIND, UNDYNE?'

Flowey rolled his eyes, scowling before he went back to being hard at work at removing as much marker as he could. Maybe he should've rigged the markers while he was on the warpath the previous night. He'd keep that in mind for the next time around-- and, oh, there WAS going to be a next time. It was only a matter of waiting for the right moment.

'Pfffffff.  
What a couple of weenies!  
They're perfect for each other!!! You guys really weren't kidding about that!  
We've got to make it REALLY good if we're going to pull this off, though.  
I've seen this in a few animes and other shows Al's shown me and it's worked every time!  
We just have to find something that gets them BOTH emotionally vulnerable!  
They get in the mess, they're having a rough time, then BAM!!!  
They've just got each other for comfort!!!  
It'll be a rocky start, and they might not go for it right away, but it works ALL THE TIME!!  
....  
I don't know what we'll do to get them like that, though.  
Sans is a mystery and??? I don't know anything about this Flowey guy???  
So we're gonna have to dig for some info and brainstorm before we do anything!'

Sans fully anticipated a second round of pranks, and braced himself for such. This was going to probably be a long war with no mercy from both sides. And he was fully prepared for that. Let the war begin, hell yeah.

'aaaah! that sounds perfect!! <3  
i'm surprised i didn't think of that but i'm glad you did  
we'll def have to research first tho yeah'

'HMMM. THEY BOTH SEEM TO BE THE SORTS THAT HAVE THEIR EMOTIONS BOTTLED UP ALL OF THE TIME. THEY SMILE A LOT, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE NOT HAPPY.  
SANS DOESN'T HAVE MANY WEAK POINTS....THAT I KNOW OF.  
WE'LL DEFINITELY HAVE TO MEET UP AND FIND A WAY TO SEE WHATEVER WEAK POINTS THEY DO HAVE!'

'omg real life shipping never thought i'd see the day'

'HELL YEAH, REAL LIFE SHIPPING!!!  
At least we picked the BEST real life ship to have.  
Let's call it Friday, guys.  
That'll be the day we get this all figured out. It's gonna be great.'


	6. Isn't Something Missing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Unresolved loss can lead to depression and a fear of loss to anxiety.  
> The more you hold to something you've lost the more you fear losing it.  
> Depression, anxiety, depression, anxiety, one leads to the next, then the other, it's a vicious cycle.
> 
> Wouldn't you like to be free from all that, finally?  
> Wouldn't you like to go home, clear out her room, maybe  
> spend some time with your son, and let your daughter go at last?'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, by the way, probably should note -  
> characters played by:  
> Monokuma - Sans, Papyrus, Toriel, Alphys, Frisk, Napstablook, OC, Chara (kinda)  
> budgieking - Flowey, Undyne, W.D. Gaster, Mettaton, Grillby, Asgore, Woshua

True to her word, as she usually never failed to be, the brother's home was shown no hesitation before Undyne let herself in. She'd been coming over for so long, after all these years, it was practically as if she'd been accepted into the family as one of the Gasters, herself. The brothers could absolutely use a powerful sister-figure in their lives anyways, couldn't they?

Well, she decided as much for Papyrus, anyways. Sans was busy with work, and she had absolutely no problem with keeping the younger brother going, and keeping him ready as ever for life as a whole.

"Papyrus, we're here!" She called into the upstairs of the home, waving Alphys in before practically flopping back onto the couch, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. The moment he got in the room, though, she sat upright, flashing him an eager, jagged-toothed grin.

"So, first meeting's in order! I guess now would be the time to ask, did anybody get any ideas today, or is this all gonna be brainstorming?"

The shy black-haired coder took a few steps inside, sitting next to her girlfriend on the couch, though not before closing the door behind her. "I don't have anything." Alphys sighed - though both she and Undyne probably knew that to begin with. Papyrus, on the other hand--

"WELL. I'M NOT ENTIRELY PROUD OF MYSELF, BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS...DID SOME SNOOPING. WHILE MY BROTHER WAS ASLEEP, I LOOKED THROUGH HIS PHONE CONTACTS, AND I FOUND THE PERFECT PERSON TO HELP US OUT WITH THIS." Papyrus declared, hopping off of the stairs. "SHE SHOULD BE HERE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES."

A knock at the door a few minutes later confirmed that Papyrus was indeed telling the truth. The tall boy answered the door - an admittedly older-ish looking woman with faded blonde hair on the other side, a small elementary-school aged girl standing beside her. "Oh! Hello...are you Papyrus? I am Toriel."

"I AM INDEED! WELCOME TO THE FIRST MEETING!" He welcomed her inside, Toriel walking in while the little girl kept hold of her hand.

"I hope you do not mind...I had to bring my youngest daughter. She simply could not stay at home by herself." Toriel smiled - and then noticed the other two sitting on the couch. "Ah! So this is the group set to get my son and his soulmate to admit their feelings? It's very nice to meet you all. My name is Toriel, and I'm Flowey's mother. This is Frisk, my youngest daughter."

Frisk peeked out from behind Toriel...only to dart back behind her again, muttering a quiet 'hello.'

"It's for the best, Pap-- they're gonna be thanking us later for all this!" Undyne gave a nod, the knock coming just before it occurred to her that she should /probably/ ask just who it was. It looks like she'd be finding out via face-to-face meeting, though. Whoever it was had shown up in an almost-impressive timely manner, and despite herself, Undyne wound up with her focus entirely trained to the door, brows lifted in obvious curiosity.

Of all the faces she'd expected to see, though, it hadn't been who she was pretty sure was Mayor Asgore's ex. /And/ a kid.

"Nice to meet you both!" She flashed a bright smile with the greeting, doing what she could to tone down /some/ enthusiasm. As great as kids were, a lot of them merely weren't ready to handle her gung-ho attitude very well. "We just figure we ought to help out our friends, since, y'know-- I don't think they know how to help themselves with this mess."

Jumping right into the topic, though, a look of clear interest blatantly shown on her features, she leaned up from where she'd been settled against the couch, folding her arms across her legs to lean against them. "So, I figure, you've been friends with Sans for a while-- and, hey, you're even Flowey's /parent,/ so. What's that guy's deal? We're trying to find something to make them crack. I dunno if Papyrus let you in on the plans."

Despite the questioning, though, her focus did occasionally waver to the shy child that didn't seem to budge from Toriel's side once. She wasn't building up any sort of solid ideas yet-- /but,/ having Frisk around did open a whole new window of possibilities, that was for sure.

Frisk nodded at the greeting. Hello. Alphys tried her best to give the child a friendly smile as well, and Frisk nodded at that too, despite still hiding a bit behind her mother.

"Nice to meet you both as well." Toriel smiled. "And yes, it's a delightful idea to help them out. My little Asri--Flowey probably needs the help...and so does Sans, for that matter. Papyrus told me all about the plan, and...well...it...it may be difficult to begin with, that...cracking thing." She bit her lip before looking at Papyrus. "Papyrus, dear? Would you mind taking Frisk to get a glass of water and a snack while we talk? She's not had her afternoon snack yet, and I'd appreciate it quite a bit."

"RIGHT AWAY! IF...YOU DON'T MIND, FRISK." Papyrus looked at the child, who hesitated for a few seconds before walking into what she assumed was the kitchen, Papyrus following after her. As soon as they'd disappeared, Toriel let out a small sigh.

"...I assume this is all going to be to build trust between them...this 'cracking' thing, but...if this actually hurts my child as much as it hurts me to admit, I...don't know if I'll be able to forgive myself. I've hurt him enough to begin with. I know he'd never admit these things otherwise, but..." Toriel looked down, taking a shaking breath. Alphys immediately frowned.

"If...if it's that bad, we don't have to...but it's for his future happiness. The ends justify the means." Alphys almost tacked on a 'I think', but quickly bit her tongue. She had to sound certain of this, or else it wouldn't work.

"Alright, well..." Toriel gently took a seat in a nearby chair, folding her hands. "...where to even begin? I suppose I should let you both in on the first secret - Flowey is not my child's birth name. Originally, he was named Asriel. Asriel Dreemurr." She almost felt like they would know already, just from the sound of that name. Tabloids and columns had dragged up every piece of knowledge they could find about Mayor Asgore, and Dreemurr wasn't exactly a common surname - so the name was fairly well known. "He doesn't like to be related back to that name for...for obvious reasons."

Alphys immediately winced. Oh. Yep. That was the mayor's ex-wife. And Flowey was their son. This was already looking like it was going to be a trainwreck, but it'd come out alright in the end...right?

"...I don't know how much the news reports said, but around January 9th, a few years back...that's about when the worst of it happened. I had two children and a loving husband. After that day, I had one child and a grief-stricken husband. It was all a blur, back then. One moment I was standing in the kitchen, making pie for my family, when the phone rang. The next moment I was talking to a doctor, getting news that my daughter had died. Lethal poisons in her body that couldn't be stopped in time. My daughter, Chara....she was gone before I even had time to tell her goodbye.

Asriel didn't understand to begin with, and he kept asking me when she'd come back, trying to keep some part of hope alive. But when I had to explain that she wouldn't be able to, I think...I think he started to lose faith in the world. Already, his trust for people was breaking down, and that was even before I started blaming my husband, and he left. Asgore even blamed himself. I don't now, but...I think Asriel saw the whole thing, and he--he stopped trusting people after that. Stopped trusting me. Started believing the only person he could ever really believe the truth from was himself. And he ran away from home.

I was alone. For a few years. It was only recently that I adopted Frisk, and every time I look into her eyes, I see...I see Chara. None of us were willing to confront that, and I've almost made peace with it, but...he hasn't, I know. The most that I can imagine is that Sans is the only one who can help him, that strange connection they share -- it's more than I could've ever done. I don't know if I'm wrong, or if I...I don't know. That's the most I can think of that would lead to a break in the facade that everything is fine." She sighed once more. "I'm...I'm sorry. That's the only way he'd really be able to trust - or love anyone anymore. He has to confront that."

Alphys looked down, with a quiet muttering of 'Maybe this was a bad idea.'

There were a long few moments that, as rare as the instances were, Undyne faltered, something more sad-lenient taking over her features. Everyone had heard about the split-up, that was a thing that was common knowledge in the town-- but the means behind it? The other child's death? She had no idea.

The look she offered to Toriel was of the utmost apology, even if she /were/ at a loss of words. Family tragedies weren't exactly something that someone knew how to respond to, especially something of that magnitude.

She probably would've fallen into speechlessness for a few more long moments, too, had it not been for her catching Alphys's muttering, her gaze moving over to her. It shouldn't have come as surprise-- as much as she loved her, Alphys /was/ one to drop plans and ideas pretty easily if they got discouraging-- but perhaps it was the spark she needed.

Wordlessly, she looked back to Toriel, patting her legs, as if to gesture that she'd just completed thought on some sort of long, wary planning.

"Ms. Dreemurr, I think this is the /perfect/ way to do this." She gave a sure nod of herself, not wavering her gaze off the older woman, though she did allow a smile to once again creep onto her face. "I know it'll be hard to watch at first, and we don't want to hurt anybody-- but I think, if we get him to face that truth, maybe by actually meeting Pipsqueak in there, it'd do him a lot better than just hoping for the best is. Him and Sans would get time to build some trust, he'd get to deal with an issue that's GOT to be eating at him, and everything would end way better than it started."

Toriel was silent for a few seconds, but then nodded. "I...I had a feeling that would be the case, yes. It's the only way I believe that would work, even if...Frisk doesn't know any of this. I haven't let her know. She's...she's a sensitive child, and I'm scared of how she might feel in the midst of it, but...I suppose we should all remain optimistic. No matter how hard it is to do." A hesitant smile crossed her face, despite the hurt she obviously felt from reliving those memories.

"....I'm sure it'll all turn out fine, yeah..." Alphys agreed, though she resisted, once more, tacking on 'I hope, at least.' She was probably the least optimistic about the whole situation - somehow, she just didn't feel right barging in on all of this, despite the fact that it was all to make one of her best friends happy in the end. But perhaps, as she said, the ends justified the means. She held in a sigh, and held Undyne's hand for support. At least her girlfriend was positive, it seemed.

It was about then that Frisk walked back into the room, a cheerful smile on her face before she extended her arms to her mother and sat on her lap. "I made a friend." She stated simply, and Papyrus had followed after her, grinning at the mention that she did, indeed, make a friend.

"DID I MISS MUCH? DO WE HAVE A PLAN?"

"...I think we have a plan, yeah." Alphys replied.


	7. Isn't Someone Missing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ' Listen to what's in the heart of a child  
> A song so big and one so small  
> Soon you will hear where beauty lies  
> You'll hear and you'll recall  
> The sadness the doubt  
> All the loss, the grief  
> Will belong to some play from the past  
> As the child leads the way to a dream  
> A belief  
> A time of hope through the land...'

"We'll keep her in the dark about it, and make it seem like something good. It is, but, you know-- good in kid terms." She gave a nod, her smile softening into more of a proud one when Alphys agreed. So far, things were going well, and despite her foreseeing being a support for the two of them with her boundless optimism about the situation, it was going to work. She /knew/ it would.

It had to.

After what felt like ages of waiting, too, it was finally time to put that plan into action. Every part of it had gone right so far-- Papyrus got Flowey into the brother's house, the news of company coming over was spread, and in only a matter of time, Toriel would be there to get the plan in motion.

Undyne decided it best not to make an appearance, but that didn't mean by a long shot that she was going to fall out of tough. No, quite the contrary: she wanted details on the /whole/ thing. This might've been one of the most risky plans she'd put into action in a long time, and if anything started going wrong, she needed to be the first one to hear about it.

"Sans, /really?/ Do you have absolutely no taste? Howl's Moving Castle is okay, sure, but Spirited Away is where it's at. Only seconded by Grave of the Fireflies. Have you seen that one?" As per routine, Flowey had snagged the remote, and was skimming through movies to find one for the evening. No thrillers, as was per the rule he despised-- action movies were okay, though, and probably the closest he'd get to anything horror-related.

"Haaaave you seen... Ex Machina? The one with the robot chick? If not, we have to watch it. It's non-optional. This movie might be one of the best ones I've ever seen."

"i have awesome taste. there's no gigantic awesome-looking castle in either of those, which is one of the many reasons why they're only the 2nd and 3rd best." Sans commented. Then again, he hadn't been able to sit through the entirety of Grave of the Fireflies, mostly because the one time he tried, Papyrus had burst into tears at damn near everything and he couldn't blame him. "nah, doesn't sound familiar. sure."

Meanwhile, outside of the home, Toriel and Frisk were approaching, Frisk looking up at her mother. "Now, Frisk, you are to be on good behavior, though I know you always are. We're going to meet some new friends today, alright?"

"Papyrus' brother and my big brother, right?" Frisk asked, holding her mother's hand timidly. "They're both nice?"

"Mmmhmm. They're both very sweet." Toriel smiled.

"Papyrus told me his big brother was the second coolest and only he was cooler than him." Frisk giggled. "He said I was the third coolest, though." The little girl was silent around most people she didn't know yet, but when she was familiar, she was very talkactive, if a bit precocious.

"Well, in my opinion, my child, you are the absolute coolest. Don't tell Papyrus I said that, though." The laugh Frisk gave made Toriel brighten quite a bit, though she hesitated to knock on the door. Luckily, Frisk knocked for her, happy to see one of her friends again.

Sans heard the knock, raising a brow, and got up. "huh. must be the people coming over pap mentioned." Opening the door, he paused. "--tori! hey! didn't expect ya--" He glanced down. "...and who're you, kiddo?"

Frisk hesitated a bit, but she eventually got out words. "I'm Frisk. Are you Papyrus' brother?"

"nice to meet'cha, frisk. i'm sans, and yep. pap's my little bro." Sans ruffled her hair, and the little girl started giggling.

"...May we come in?" Toriel asked, and Sans immediately stepped back as they stepped inside, Frisk leading the way with a cheerful smile on her face.

The knock on the door wasn't something that particularly caught a lot of Flowey's attention, if he were honest. All he assumed of it was maybe some of Papyrus's other friends coming over to join whatever plans he seemed to have, and frankly, he couldn't care less. At most, a look was tossed over when Sans got up, but for the most part, Flowey was bound and determined not to budge from his cozy spot on the couch.

That was, until apparently, it was his his mom that came over, her voice leaving him sitting up and looking far more confused than before.

Confusion shifted to something much more panicked when he caught eye of a child, though, and he only grew more and more uneasy as he got a better look at the kid. He knew better than this. There wasn't any way. Yet, the longer he looked at Frisk, the more she looked like...

"Howdy, Mom! I see you brought a... little friend with you! Hey, that's nice." He cut off those thoughts with a breathy laugh and a greeting, flashing her a bright smile as he sat up on the couch, unable to wipe at least a trace of horror off his face. He stood up to face her better, his hands lifting to lock together with one another, his fingers tapping nervously on the back of his hands. "What's, uh. What's the occasion?"

This was the moment Toriel feared most. She'd have to just go and say it. "..I need to tell you something. This is Frisk. She's...my adoptive child."

Frisk had paused, feeling at least a bit of the tension in the air, and stepping back to hold her mother's hand once more. Was she not supposed to be there? She wondered. She looked up at her mother, and then at Sans, and then back at Flowey. That was her big brother, right? He seemed scared. Why?

Sans was just as confused. It was just a kid -- sure, it was...apparently Toriel's kid, and maybe he didn't know about it, but there was nothing too bad going on, right? There...wasn't.

Frisk hesitantly tried to smile again, despite feeling the slightest bit unwanted. "...hi."

The words that were given, without a doubt, weren't anything that Flowey wanted to hear. Not even the slightest bit.

There was a moment of apprehension, something knotting up in his stomach. Oh, there were a lot of emotions happening right now, a lot more than he would've cared to endure all at once. The familiar face sparked some sort of excitement, some sort of old sentimentality that he hadn't felt since he was a kid. But... the familiarity wasn't there with the one it was supposed to be coupled with. No matter the looks, the similarity in voice-- this wasn't right.

This wasn't Chara, even if every part of her resounded as the real deal. "Frisk, huh?" Come on. Get with the program, Flowey. This was just... some new kid. Some new kid Toriel decided was her kid. A sibling he wasn't aware he even had. Sure, it felt like Toriel was replacing the only person who ever understood him with someone who looked EXACTLY like her. And, not to mention, maybe it felt like some kind of cruel jab by the universe, something that was only there to remind him about the loss that he, even almost fourteen years later, still refused to accept.

But, that wasn't Frisk's fault, right?

Every part of him wanted to answer "yes," but a reasonable part of him decided it best to but on a cheery guise, and deal with sorting out the actual, rational answer to that later. A bright smile that almost physically pained him was put on, and he knelt down to the other's level, no longer looking horrified. Or, as much, anyways. It more looked like he was trying to figure something out. That's as much of it he could mask, anyways. "Well, hey! It's nice to meet you and all. Hey, I'll-- I'll be right back though. Just a sec."

He stood back up, and once his face was out of the child's view, without a doubt, he looked to be a mix of distraught and furious, among a few other things he wasn't exactly processing well. A hand lifted to settle over his mouth, a couple seconds were taken to try to get himself in check, to no avail.

A quick glance was taken around, in hopes of finding any escape route at all, but when one wasn't found, he took a look over to /Sans/ of all people. Mostly just because Papyrus was nowhere to be seen at this very moment.

"Hey, Sans, buddy. You have somewhere I can tap out for just a second? I've... got a headache. I just need a second to get rid of it."

"...yeah, sure...you've been to the house enough, wherever ya need to go, go ahead." Sans obviously looked concerned. What was....what was going on? He hadn't ever seen Flowey get this upset. Upset, yes, but this was definitely a different level of upset. As soon as Flowey left the room, Sans looked up at Toriel. "tori. what's going on?"

Toriel already looked a bit hurt, even while trying to hide it. "It's...it's complicated, Sans." She almost whispered the words. Frisk had watched Flowey leave, and looked up at her mother.

"Does he hate me?" Frisk asked, faltering a bit. "I'm sorry." Sans and Toriel shared a glance, and Sans leaned down a bit to her height - alright, he was good with getting kids to cheer up. Mostly.

"nah, nah, kiddo. he's gonna be fine, he doesn't hate ya. i don't think anyone could hate you. hey. hey. knock knock."

"...Who's there?"

"who."

"Who who?"

"that's weird, ya don't look like an owl to me." Sans winked. Frisk couldn't help but snort and hug her new friend. Aww. Affectionate kiddo. Sans gladly hugged her back. "i'll make sure everything's 'kay, kay? meanwhile, you can just hang out, watch tv, we've got loads of movies."

Frisk let go, walking towards the couch before abruptly pausing and seeing a familiar DVD case next to the player. "Is that Sprited Away? That's my favorite!"

"sure is. ya wanna see it?"

"Mmmhmm!" Frisk nodded, gladly hopping onto the couch with a smile as Sans put the disc in and started it up for her. "...T-Thank you, Sans."

"'ey, no problem, buddy." Sans ruffled her hair once more, eliciting a giggle before he glanced at Tori. "...tori. maybe you should tell me what's going on?"

"Right." Toriel had been watching the two with a small smile - well, at least Sans got along with Frisk fairly well. Sans led Tori into the nearby kitchen to talk, while Frisk sat by herself -

And despite the distraction, Frisk still couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

The minute he was given an opportunity, Flowey was gone, making his way upstairs and taking up hiding out in first unoccupied room he could find. Or, more so, the only room that didn't either belong to one specific person or was occupied. The bathroom seemed like it would have to suffice, and once the door was soundly closed, Flowey found himself taking up a spot against the sink, slumped back against it.

Was this a set-up? Was this some kind of sick joke? Maybe just pure coincidence? He didn't know. He didn't know what this was, and the lack of sense that he was able to make of it for himself was terrifying.

Fingers lifted to tangle into blonde locks, holding his head up as he tried to piece something together, some actual explanation of this among grim, bitter possibilities his mind pitched at him.

After he left, Toriel replaced not only him, but Chara as well. Despite the meeting they'd had a couple weeks back, after all this time, she hadn't particularly noticed when he'd slipped away, so maybe it was just her getting rid of some guilt? ...No, that didn't sound right. She loved kids too much, and even if it seemed like she abandoned any care for her family after his sibling was gone, she wouldn't go through the process of adopting another just to replace someone.

Maybe she saw the similarities between Frisk and Chara, and had so much disdain for him leaving that she'd give him the subtle jab of facing him with the spitting image of the only person who really got him as a kid? That would be a sick, twisted thing of her to do. He didn't know if she'd have something like that in her.

What if this was karma, finally catching up to him for being a generally terrible, compassionless husk of a person for so long? After this last month, he wouldn't put something like this beyond fate.

One thing he was struggling with, though, is the fact that he'd pushed the thought away for so long, the fact that Chara was absolutely dead was hitting him like a sucker punch again. He knew she wasn't alive anymore. That was a fact. But some part of him was so deeply rooted in denial after all this time, that maybe there'd been a mistake with the hospital, and she was out there /somewhere./

With a copious amount of things to sort out, his attention trained to nothing in particular ahead of him, it'd left him jumping where he sat at the sound of the door creaking open, his hands dropping from his head immediately to flash a glare towards whoever came through.

"Does privacy mean /nothing/ to you people around here? You know what room this is, right?"

  
"yeah. i know." Sans had immediately followed after Flowey after Toriel told him the story. He had almost gotten angry, almost been mad that she had a very good feeling as to what would happen if she brought Frisk over, and sure enough, she was right. He was almost livid, but then she'd looked guilty and admitted that she just wanted Frisk to be happy, and...Chara's death was just something that had to be faced sooner or later instead of ignored.

He'd let out an annoyed sigh, and weakly admitted she was right before asking if it would be alright if he excused himself...just to make sure Flowey was alright. Toriel nodded, and he immediately darted off. As he left, she couldn't help but have a very faint smile at the protectiveness that had gotten the better of him.

"...you, uh, you doin' any better?" He asked, glancing back at the living room, then stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "i understand if you're not. entirely." If it wasn't obvious Toriel had told him the story already, it certainly was now, since he wasn't even bothering to hide the concern in his face and voice.

Every part of Flowey was tensed, angry, ready to lash out like a feral dog backed into the corner. Especially when the door was closed behind him, and effectively, he was trapped in the room with Sans, his one escape route blocked.

As much as he had been about to snap at the guy, though, fall into a tangent about how not-okay he was, the concern in his voice had him falter. It was something he hadn't heard the whole time they'd known each other, and it had the glare falter to something frustrated, then... back to the mix of frustration and lingering sadness he couldn't seem to shake.

"Well. Hah, I guess so. I'm not looking at a dead kid's doppelgänger anymore, so. Y'know." He tried to crack a bitter smile, but not even that lasted very long, before knees were pulled up to his chest, a resigning sigh escaping him. "...Why'd she do this? You think she did it on purpose, /just/ because she knew I'd react to it? I can't deal with this."

He let out a breath of a laugh, an almost disbelieving smile hinting at the corner of his lips, though the gesture looked more distressed than anything else. "I... I just can't understand. What'd I do to deserve this?"

"i don't think she did it on purpose." Sans didn't think she did. Tori wasn't that mean-spirited. It was more likely that she just - as she said, gotten lonely, and latched onto the one thing that would've given her comfort since she'd lost everything else. "...i don't know, but..." Shit, he wasn't good in situations like this. He was mostly either a snarky douche, or a friendly pun-master, not someone who was good at comforting anyone, though...he really did want to try. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he couldn't help but worry. He had to do something, say something, but...

"...she feels almost as bad about it as you do. she's blamed herself. a lot, even after all the time's passed. she was just lonely, and she needed something to make her happy again...but even after this time, she's scared of confronting the truth and really accepting it. i can get why, but it's something that has to happen...for both of you. there's no use pretending like it didn't and just smiling and forcing yourself to forget." Was he making any sort of sense? "...it's just going to hurt more if you do that."

The well-intended words just resounded sourly to Flowey, a light scowl pulling at his lips. "You don't get it. You just... I don't think you could. You don't just accept something like /that./"

Despite the anger that he kept getting pangs of at what felt like Sans prying, though, some foul part of the back of his mind insisted that he let his guard down for once. That maybe, just this time around, fury and snide comments weren't the answer answer to a situation like this. Sans was being well-intended for once, too, but... it was hard. Just the thought of actually confiding in someone almost made his skin crawl, especially about /this./

"It wasn't just losing a sibling, it was..." There was a pause, a reluctance to actually get into his explanation. Just dropping it and telling Sans to fuck off was seeming like a better and better option the longer it went on. "Augh, it's just... No one else /really/ understood me like Chara did. For a couple weeks, I didn't even know she was that kind of gone. And... it's, just. It's hard to explain. I could probably go on about it forever, but I don't think you'll really get it. Nobody gets it."

Remember that time Sans hoped for a telephone pole to just randomly fall from the sky and crush him into bits to escape to the sweet release of death? Yep. He was hoping for that again because he had no fucking idea what to do. WHAT DO YOU FUCKING DO AT A TIME LIKE THIS?? SANS DOESN'T KNOW. SANS DOESN'T KNOW AND HE'S SCARED OF MESSING UP. Ugggghhh, fuck, what to say?

"...you're right. i couldn't ever really get it." Unless something happened to Papyrus. That had happened before in nightmares. He'd just find his scarf, nothing else, not even a body, and...he'd just stop. Stop caring. Stop laughing. He'd want revenge, but not really on anyone in particular. Maybe that was something similar. Maybe not.

What he wouldn't give for just being able to reset this entire situation back to the beginning and let it not happen, though. "i couldn't ever really understand what you're feeling. i just--i..." 'I'm worried about you'? 'I want you to be okay'? 'I don't want you to feel alone, because you're not - if anything, I'm here. That probably doesn't mean much to you but sometimes, god, I wish it did'....he just needed him to be okay. It wasn't his place, he knew. He just ended up hurt when he saw the anger and grief on Flowey's face.

"i know none of its my place to say anything, and i'm not good at saying anything, anyway. i just wanted to see if i could try to maybe...maybe get ya to feel better, and...guess i kinda fucked that up, huh?" He just shook his head. "....if it matters any, i, uh. as a friend, i'm...i'm here for ya, 'kay?" And he was about to leave because he was just a titanic fuckup and why did he care and why did he hurt so much? Everything is bad. Bad, bad, bad.

As Sans seemed to backtrack with whatever he was getting at, the blank stare Flowey had taken to directing at the wall across from him was now up towards the other, unable to hide a hint of confusion. He'd... never really seen anyone back down from something that quickly. Or admit to failure that quickly, either. Any other time, any other situation, it might've been something gloat-worthy, but right now?

Maybe it was the messy cesspool of emotions that he was being bombarded with, but from somewhere, concern decided to make itself present. As if he didn't have enough to deal with right now.

"...Jeez, you /are/ bad at this kind of thing." Despite the potential to have bitterness to them, there was the ghost of a joking smile pulling at his lips. It was still an exhausted, grief-ridden smile, but one nonetheless. It felt almost like a foreign gesture. "...I guess you could've done worse, probably. Like, y'know. Staying out there. ...Y'know. Just a little thought of mine here, but. You're not looking like you're doing so hot over there, yourself."

Sans knew very well that he was horrible at trying to be emotionally supportive, because personally, he was a trainwreck in that department just as well. He wanted to not be, he wanted to be stable and--why did he...

...

No. /Nooooooo/. That was not it. Ignoring that temporary thought that may have explained a bit of his protectiveness and his desire to help so badly, he just ended up having his usual lazy smile at the acknowledgement that yeah, he was horrible at that. "i tried." is all he could say in his defense.

And then Flowey decided to point out that Sans wasn't looking the best either. Uh. Uhhhh. Was he? ...Probably. He had been freaking out just not too long ago, so he probably did look like somewhat of a trainwreck. "...naaaah, 'm fine. i think. unless you've realized something i haven't."

"If you say so." A shrug was given, before he slumped back a little further against the sink's base, the smile melting again. Christ, just /look/ at them. They were both disasters of people, weren't they? If Flowey was even remotely willing to let his thoughts drift in that direction, he could've probably found something amusing in the fact that two people like this got stuck together as soulmates, but that was beside the point for the time being.

Admittedly, though, Sans's words were just now /actually/ hitting him. A moment of swayed subject matters helped provide an eye to the storm. All the other reasoning, him needing to accept that, and everything else wasn't exactly heeded with anything that wasn't bitterness, but one thing definitely hit him the most.

Despite being at odds with him since they met, Sans was there for him.

"...S' just. I dunno, Sans." He sighed, a hand lifting up to card through his hair again, not exactly able to mess it up more than it already was. "It's not right. It's like... you get one person in your life that, for once, doesn't think you're useless, or replaceable, even with the way I was as a kid... and then they're /gone./ Like they weren't even there. It's not fair, you know? And then you have to look at them again, and they're sharing a mom with you again, but they've got a different name. I... I know it's not Chara. But, it just. Everything felt /just/ like it did back then, just looking at the kid. ....If any of that makes any sense, anyways."

"...yeah, it makes sense." Honestly, yeah, Sans would probably find it hilarious that they were both so messed up and yet still soulmates...if he was in a remotely cheerful mood at the moment. Which he really wasn't - it was more exhaustion and still some concern lingering around. "like i said, i couldn't ever really fully understand, but i know it's difficult, and i know it's going to take a lot to get through, but...chara probably wouldn't want you to shut frisk out because of some resemblances...or shut anyone else out for that matter, but especially not frisk or tori. they care about ya."

The obvious 'I care about you too' was left unsaid. He didn't try to deliberately imply it, either, but it was there. Even if they constantly were at odds, he did want him to be happy. The few times they weren't at odds, it was nice...and even then, 'at odds' nowadays was less 'I hate you and everything about you' and more of a stupid friendly rivalry he ended up laughing about later. It was nice.

There's a long moment of silence from him, a glance away from him, before a resigning sigh escaped him, far less frustrated than any of the other ones. As much as he hated to admit it... Sans was right. Despite the siblings being one another's only friends at that age, if a new child had come into the mix, Chara probably wouldn't have shut them out. They would've been more welcome to join their little circle of friends than anything else, really, as long as Chara had a good feeling about whoever it'd be.

There were some complications with it, as far as how Chara would /actually/ react, but... Flowey wouldn't think on that too long. Not for now, anyways.

"... Yeah, yeah." He shrugged. "God, it's gonna be weird though. And... It'll take a while to for me to tell if they're /actually/ going to be worth letting back in my life. I'm not making any promises there. ...I hope Mom isn't expecting me to play the 'older sibling, good influence' role or something, either. That's just not a thing that'll happen."

"welp. good enough for me. and i heavily doubt tori expects that. she probably knows better than that." Sans snorted. "ya ready to join 'em again?" He asked. Man, he was just glad that somehow, /somehow/, he'd ended up getting a decent solution out of this. Congratulations Sans, you didn't completely fuck up. That's an accomplishment he holds with pride.

Meanwhile, Toriel had been talking to the rest of the matchmaking group via text -

'They've been alone quite a while talking.  
I think it may have actually worked.'

'REALLY?? WOWIE!  
DO YOU THINK THEY'RE TOGETHER, THEN?'

'I don't think it's that far yet.  
But...when Frisk and I arrived, Sans was happy to see us, Flowey left, I explained the story, and Sans...  
Sans immediately got furious at the idea.  
I began to doubt myself, but then he just looked concerned and immediately ran after him.  
I do believe that means something, at least that he cares at the very least.'

Frisk had sat on the couch silently, eating a small set of previously wrapped in a little baggie peanut butter crackers that Toriel had brought in her purse while watching the movie. She'd almost forgotten everything that went on, but no, not quite. She couldn't entirely.

The question wasn't answered immediately, a heavy dose of hesitation leaving Flowey heavily faltering. Was he ready to go out there? The talking had helped, that was for sure, but it wasn't as though the resentment and panic had entirely vanished during the span of one conversation.

It wasn't as though he could hide out in the bathroom forever, though, as much as he'd like to at this point.

"I guess so." He shrugged, before hauling himself up to stand, running a hand through his hair and heaving a breath. He could do this. He had this, right? Sure he did. He just had to keep reminding himself that this was just a new kid, after all. Similarities be damned. This was a whole new person.

He didn't think anyone would blame him for putting on the cheery Flowey ruse with the kid until he could actually handle it, though.

A glance over had him bracing himself, shoving a few other thoughts out of his mind, and... battling a horrible, confusing sentimentality that wanted to thank Sans, maybe even point out that he was there for him as well, if need-be. It wasn't something he could exactly get out, though, and once they'd left, he merely took to the couch, on the opposite side of the child that was still there.

...Huh. He didn't remember putting on Spirited Away, though. Actually turning to look at the kid, with interest written all over his face, he finally got around to speaking up for the first time since he left the bathroom. "...Did you put this on?"

"Mmm..mmmhmm. It's my favorite." Frisk nodded, her attention being drawn to Flowey now that he was back. He was okay, hopefully. Toriel had reassured her that he didn't hate her. It was complicated, she said. Frisk had understood, at least a bit. It was difficult to understand fully, but she managed to understand just a bit. Toriel had been sitting in a chair nearby, her attention quickly drawn to the sight of Sans and Flowey rejoining them.

Sans had put on his usual carefree, lazy smile as he got back to the rest, sitting on the floor with his hands in his jacket pockets, looking as if nothing had happened, as if everything were okay. It was more okay than it had been to begin with, but it still probably wasn't what people would consider 100% okay. He was fine with it, though.

Toriel quickly texted the rest of the group once she saw the two return:

'They're back. They seem to be in a slightly better mood, which is nice.'

'frisk is feeling ok too? i was kinda worried  
i guess i shouldn't have been but considering the situation'

'Yes. She's doing perfectly a-ok.'

'ah alright good  
i was worried for nothing wwww'

The answer he got had him skeptical-looking, yet interested nevertheless, a pause being taken before he managed to crack the smallest of smiles. Okay, he could work with this. Things could be much, much worse right now, right? Sure they could be. "Yeah? It's actually my favorite, too. Glad /somebody/ around here has decent taste. Sans's favorite movie is really lame, trust me."

A snicker was flashed Sans's way, and it was almost as though the both of them were just going to act as if Flowey's little meltdown hadn't ever happened. It was just a quick trip out of the room for a few, as far as Flowey was concerned at the moment.

In the text-group, though, there wasn't much more wait before Undyne went to messaging them back, a grin more than likely on her face, wherever she was at the moment.

'I TOLD you guys it would work!!!  
Kid's okay, everybody's fine, and I bet those two are closer than ever!  
Probably. I guess time will tell with all that.  
But I've got a pretty good hunch that it worked that way too!!!'

Frisk immediately started giggling, especially when Sans stuck his tongue out childishly at the response. "hey, it's not that bad."

"It's not the best either, 'cause, if it's not this, it's not." Frisk stated, a cheerful smile on her face.

"oh, c'mon, now it's two against one? not fair." Frisk only responded to Sans remark by sticking out her own tongue. Nyeh.

"It's okay~ you're okay even if you're lame, Sans." Frisk replied, the cheerful smile on her face not faltering for a second, except to give him a jokingly sympathetic look.

Tori responded, just watching the three out of the corner of her eye with a gentle smile on her face.

'It certainly seems that way.  
It's almost like nothing happened, but they do seem closer.  
Even if 'closer' means my children are bullying Sans for his movie taste.'

'to be fair sans is into some entry level garbage wwww  
need to show you all paprika  
then you'll know really good anime movies'

'SANS ONLY LETS ME WATCH ONES RATED PG.'

'....sorry pap but i guess you'll have to miss that one then  
especially if we end up watching perfect blue too  
then we're getting into some interesting stuff even if its creepy'

'Alright, well. I'm certainly happy that everything seems to be turning out alright.  
Though we can't stop here. This is only the beginning of getting them together, I'm sure.  
But we'll be able to manage!  
Also, I do agree with watching Perfect Blue. If that is not your favorite Japanese movie, then you are, objectively, wrong.'

'hell yeah ms dreemurr ＼(≧▽≦)／ wwww  
but yeah i agree  
we should get them on an actual date sometime somehow'

Oddly enough, and against all better judgement that the back of his mind nagged at him, Flowey was... actually starting to like this kid. She had a personality that he could get behind. It was still going to take some work, there wasn't any doubt about that-- but, maybe, just maybe, he could see this working out. At least, he hoped it would, anyways.

"See, Sans? I'm telling you. The first part of fixing a problem is admitting there /is/ a problem." He flashed a grin, his brows lifting in obvious amusement. "Don't worry, though. Me n' Frisk are here to help. We'll cure you of your lame tendencies eventually."

The moment Alphys pitched the idea to the group, though, Undyne was messaging once more after a brief tap-out.

'That's a perfect idea!  
I mean, y'know. They're not gonna ask each other out, we know that much.  
If you guys would hear me out on another idea, though, I think I've got another one.  
One that definitely won't fail. >:)  
Al, you've still got that flamboyant weirdo around, right? Blooky's cousin, I think? We're gonna need him for this one, if you guys think it's a good idea.  
It's gonna be almost a whole-group mission.'

"I'm happy to help!" Frisk's mouth lifted into a toothy grin, Sans rolling his eyes at the two.

"i don't have a problem, you two are the ones with the problem. thinking i'm lame. i'm the coolest." Sans stated.

Frisk shook her head. "Nope, nope. You're not." Frisk said, shaking her head. "You've got to learn from us. Because we're cool. You're a lame."

"you're hurting my feelings, kiddo." Sans pouted - though it was obvious he didn't mean it. "i'm gonna cry. i'm gonna shed tears."

Frisk half-frowned. "Don't cry, lame-bo..."

Toriel raised a brow, as she continued tapping away on the phone. There was a momentary mental question as to what would happen if Sans and Flowey ever found out about these texting conversations...but that was beside the point.

'YOU MEAN METTATON? YEAH! I JUST FOUND OUT YESTERDAY THAT HE'S MY SOULMATE!'

'oooh congrats i wish you both the best'

'Just what are you planning, exactly?'

'yeah i'm curious as to that  
wait wait lemmie guess  
are we going to go on a group date?  
i wonder if they're that oblivious  
probably so wwwwww'

'OOH, THAT SOUNDS FUN! WHERE TO, THOUGH?'

'dunno'

 "Aw, c'mon, Saaans." He let out a mock-groan, nearly falling into laughter with it. The least he wasn't able to bite back was a snicker. "Frisk's got a point-- the sooner you accept that we're the coolest, and that there's more to learn for you in the realm of coolness, the better. It's easy stuff."

As far as finding out about the texts, or even the ploys in general, Undyne hadn't even remotely considered that to be a thing that could even remotely happen. Why would it? How? Who cared? Well, she probably should, but she sure didn't at the moment.

'That's EXACTLY what I was thinking of!!!  
I love Sans, don't get me wrong, but I at least know he's oblivious enough to buy it if we don't say it's a group-date sort of deal.  
I don't know about your kid, Ms. Dreemurr, but I'm hoping he'll blank out on it.  
Where to go is the tough one, though...  
Hm.  
What about the amusement park??  
I mean, we do have like a month until it closes for winter, so it's the perfect excuse to drag them along to it!!'


	8. Coasting Into A Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'I know. When we look back, thirty years from now,  
> Tonight will seem unbelievably beautiful.'
> 
>  'And…in the meantime?'
> 
>  'Why not?'
> 
>  'On my way here this afternoon, I thought perhaps, we’d only talk...'
> 
>  'So, are you sorry we…?'
> 
> 'Oh no. I love you as I have never loved anyone.'

 

Thankfully enough, the plans had gone without a hitch, and the day wound up warmer than expected. After a too-long drive (that was actually only about thirty minutes or so) in a cramped car (six people in one car made for uncomfortably close encounters with new faces), the group was finally able to escape the packed vehicle, and actually get the day rolling.

Admittedly, among the group, the fun-times full swing hadn't exactly hit yet. Undyne was a little stuck on what to do first, Flowey was half awake from the white noise of chattering nearly lulling him to sleep-- Mettaton, however, was absolutely /radiant/ with the outing.

And, even more so, thrilled to bits with the scheme he'd been let on. Matchmaking wasn't something he'd been involved with all too often, but this? Oh, /this/ was something far too interesting for him to pass up.

Despite himself, though, he wouldn't make an event of it. Some situations, a showman's touch did wonders with things, but this situation was far, /far/ too sensitive for him to even consider it.

Instead, when he had a moment from being eagerly going on with Papyrus, his phone was out, and a quick text was shot out, as well as a glance over to it's recipient taken.

'Alphys, dear, I don't mean to be a bother.  
But could you run by me again once more just how we're doing this?  
I know we're breaking off, but timing is e v e r y t h i n g.  
Should we just wait until things actually get going before we take our leave?  
Or, do you have anything specifically set up for this little ordeal?'

'i didn't actually get anything set up no whoops   
but yeah we've gotta stick around for a little bit   
and then disappear subtly'

Alphys quickly replied. Whereas Alphys was fairly alright - if a bit nervous, oh dear, this was the first big group date she'd ever been on. Papyrus was thrilled, since he loved places like this anyway and Sans.....

Well. Sans had actually fallen asleep on the way over, which was entirely expected. Papyrus had quickly woken him up with excited chatter of RIDES SANS RIDES WE'VE GOTTA GO ON ALL THE RIDES THAT'S WHAT A HUGE GROUP OF FRIENDS IS FOR RIDES. Sans had been entirely expecting the torrent of enthusiasm that was Papyrus being at a place like this, because god bless his little heart, Papyrus had acted the same way on their first trip to Disneyland. Except he was little back then. Now he was gigantic. Somehow, this did not tarnish his enthusiasm any and even perhaps enhanced it....though Sans responses were variants of 'wuh?' 'buh?' and 'huh?' for a few minutes before finally regaining himself.

"WE'RE GOING TO GO ON ALL THE ROLLERCOASTERS, SANS." Papyrus declared.

"bro, don't you get scared on those?" Sans snickered, an amused grin on his face. "i mean, yeah, i'll be fine, but--"

"...T-THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT GET SCARED, SANS." Papyrus quickly cut him off, making every attempt to be cool and badass. Sans couldn't help but be amused with it.

"if you say so, bro." Sans shrugged, letting out a yawn. "i'm gonna never let you live it down if you chicken out, though. you can't just...coast by like that." His grin only grew as Papyrus let out an annoyed groan.

"....SAAAAAAANS, STOP RUINING OUR TRIP WITH PUNS!"

"but why stop now? i'm on a...roll."

....With another annoyed groan, Papyrus started marching ahead triumphantly to whichever ride was the closest. Sans followed after, laughing.

The text wasn't responded to-- instead, Mettaton gave a thumbs up and a grin, before his attention was taken by the departure of the two brothers towards a ride. Things were getting in motion pretty quickly, it seemed, and he wasn't one to get left behind, and without further hesitation, was tagging right along with them, falling into the enthusiastic pace with absolute ease.

On the other hand, Flowey himself was still waking up, hands finding their ways to tired eyes as he tried to get with the program. Unfortunately, falling behind didn't exactly work out in his favor, seeing as when he caught on to the moving group, a strong arm wound up around his shoulders, urging him along.

"Hey, Flowey, c'mon! How're we gonna hit every ride today if you don't pick up the pace?"

An exasperated sigh escaped the much shorter of the two, a look of narrowed eyes being shot her way. "I'm coming, I'm coming! We'll get there, jeez. We've got a ridiculous amount of time."

"We've got just /enough/ time." She gave the firm correction, flashing a grin, before jabbing him with her elbow. A little too hard, judging by the hand that shot up to where he'd been nudged at the arm, but she wasn't too concerned about it. "If you start slacking, I'll carry you there, I swear. I've done it before, I'll do it again."

At the skeptical look she was given, she couldn't bite back a snort of a laugh-- this guy's sense of humor was clearly lacking. At least Sans made up for that.

Once he was absolutely tagging along, and she was positive of that much (along with a glance back to Alphys-- she was, believe it or not, pretty easy to lose if she got too quick-paced, herself), she was off to the ride, leaving Flowey taking his time with making it to join the group. After giving a look to Alphys that only asked, 'How do you deal with that all the time?'

Alphys only smiled and shrugged. Okay, yes, Undyne was a bit...enthusiastic, but that's what she liked about her. She was spontaneous, strong, brave, and really cute sometimes. Which really contrasted Alphys' mental image of herself as garbage, which Undyne would not allow every time she heard it.

Nonetheless, Alphys followed along, pushing her glasses up as she read the small warning sign next to the ride. 'This ride's thrill level is 7!' ...Starting the day off with a bang, weren't they? She had no doubt that Undyne, Mettaton, and Sans would probably be just fine...and the leftover three? It was probably pretty likely they were going to fake being fine. Though she did like these rides, since it gave her an excuse to cling to Undyne...and she'd probably even do it without thinking. Hmm. Perhaps this was a good choice after all, she thought, glancing briefly at Sans.

Sans himself was distracted by Papyrus' protesting over Sans being the typical annoying big brother. "SANS, I TOLD YOU TO NEVER TALK ABOUT THAT IN PUBLIC."

"what, the fact that you gave goofy a gigantic hug and said 'you're my hero'....oooor the fact that you still had that awkward crush on cinderella and you were almost too nervous to stand next to her for a picture?" Sans smirked.

"YOU HIT ON BELLE WHILE WE WERE THERE, YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK."

"hey. hey. she was pretty, smart, and she slipped me her number even though things didn't work out." Sans shrugged. "still managed to work for about a month."

"WAS IT THAT LONG??"

"yep. good times, good times. there were many reasons they called her...beauty."

"...JEEZ. I'M GLAD THAT I BARELY REMEMBER THA--"

"remember when cinderella kissed you on the cheek and you lit up so red i thought you'd become a tomato?"

"I HATE YOU."

"love you too, bro." Sans winked with a snicker, as they approached the front of the line. Papyrus glanced back, quickly moving from standing with his brother to standing beside Mettaton, and Alphys quickly moved to get next to Undyne...leaving Sans and Flowey. Welp. This was going to be...interesting. 

With Alphys seeming to be the exception, no one could be sure if anyone but her actually took a look at the sign. Undyne was going to be brimming with excitement no matter the ride, as long as it wasn't child-sized, Flowey was only starting to become fully-conscious enough to get with everyone else's conversations, and Mettaton had sized it up with a glance upwards and decided that it was going to be worthwhile.

With the ride currently out of mind, though, there was a pretty interesting conversation to tune into. One that Mettaton was going to remember, Undyne tried to mask interest in hearing of, and Flowey did each and everything he could to bite back a grin.

Once everyone seemed to pair up, though, Flowey paused, pausing for a moment before piecing it together. Not the /exact/ purpose of the pairing up, y'know, but the gist that there needed to be pairs for the ride.

His place was taken by Sans, and it wasn't too long of a wait until they were actually being boarded on the ride-- and, to add onto things, it was the first time that Flowey actually got a good look at just how /massive/ the rollercoaster was, and just how much the sight made his stomach knot when the safety bars got lowered.

Even though it should've, some part of "amusement park" didn't equal "gigantic roller coasters" in his mind.

There wasn't any way he was going to falter, though. No, absolutely not. Not even as the coaster went up a ridiculously steep hill, one that was conveniently hidden by a nearby building and some trees, and absolutely not as cheering ensued from Undyne just ahead of them.

The drop, though, was an entirely different story. A different story that involved petrified looks and unknowingly latching onto the closest thing he could, that thing just happening to be a familiar blue jacket that would've had him reeling back at the close proximity to him, had he not been completely and utterly terrified at the moment.

Sans was pretty alright with everything so far. Rollercoasters were no big deal to him after the age of 7 - then again, not much was a big deal to him, or at least he didn't show it. He was just grinning his usual lazy grin when the coaster began going up the hill, as Papyrus let out a gulp and steadied himself - being the ones at the front of the coaster made Papyrus particularly nervous though he'd never admit it, and Alphys was just latching onto her girlfriend for dear life. Sans had just snickered at the terrified reactions - and then glanced beside him. Oh. Welp. Looks like Buttercup wasn't exactly 100% okay, either.

And then Flowey had latched onto his jacket out of fear when the drop came, causing Sans to grin widely in amusement, doing what he'd always done with Papyrus and wrapping an arm protectively - this time around Flowey, laughing as the coaster shot down. Alphys let out a small scream, and Papyrus...Papyrus released perhaps the biggest scream of all. As soon as the drop was over, there was another small drop, and just as it was pulling in, Sans smirked at Flowey and the fact that he was still hanging onto him. "...felt any more secure there, buttercup?" He winked....and then realized that his arm was still around him, too. Haaaah.

Alphys briefly looked back, and nudged her girlfriend. It was already working. She could barely keep a smile off her face.

And then there was a sudden realization that there was indeed a photo taken on that drop, and it was clear for all to see what had happened. Papyrus, despite being terrified out of his wits minutes before, was immediately back to smiling. Yep, he was definitely going to get one of these if only to taunt Sans about later. Nyehehehe.

The ride had absolutely shaken Flowey to the core, despite the delighted screaming that came from Undyne, and the thrilled laughter that Mettaton couldn't seem to cease. By the time it came to a stop, though, he felt as though he were finally able to breathe, his death grip he'd had on the jacket's fabric slowly loosening. Alright, everything was all good. He was fine. Man, it was a good that nobody had been paying him much mind, or--

Wait, no. Nope, he definitely caught a glance back from Undyne, and then Sans had his attention, a bewildered look being tossed up his way. ...Oh. So. Yeah, that'd absolutely happened, and judging by the smug look he was getting, Sans was going to have a hell of a time with it.

Dropping his hands from Sans's jacket and reeling his arms back in to himself, any sort of calm he'd had wound up turning tense again, his mind grasping for anything to say in his defense. There wasn't anything to be found, though.

"Oh my god, shut up." He huffed, shifting to sit up a little upright, and move the arm that was around his shoulders for emphasis. "You've got no room to talk. Look at this. Don't look at me that way."

Without further hesitation (though a shameful, terrible part of his mind was almost reluctant to budge over that being so goddamn /comfortable/), he got up, trying to fix his wind-blown mess of hair to a degree. Luckily, he was too preoccupied to notice Undyne get out of her seat and eagerly usher Papyrus over to the little photobooth, giving him a grin riddled with something on the verge of laughter to it.

"Papyrus, you know what we've got to do. I'll even split the price in half with you. We've gotta immortalize this."

Sans had snickered at the reaction, looking more amused than ever. That was definitely interesting - though, yeah, he didn't exactly have /much/ room to talk, considering his first instinct was to wrap his arm around him protectively...then again, at least his could be excused as having done it with Papyrus so much when they'd gone on coasters before. Flowey had no such excuse, and didn't even try to say one. Somehow, that was the most hilarious part of the whole thing.

Papyrus had been tugged over to the little photobooth, and eagerly nodded, taking out his own wallet. "OH, I WAS ALREADY PLANNING TO. I'M SURE THIS'LL MAKE A GREAT ADDITION AROUND THE HOUSE. NYEHEHEHEHEHE." That was about the minute Sans noticed, after getting out, that the ride had a camera. And sure enough, displayed on the small screen, was a picture of the group - Papyrus up front screaming his lungs out, Mettaton laughing, Alphys holding onto Undyne for dear life with frightened tears in her eyes, Undyne screaming with a smile....and Flowey and him in the back, Sans laughing and Flowey looking terrified. Oh, jeez. On top of the fact that he'd looked for all the world like he was far too happy with the situation. He just faked his usual lazy grin, trying not to be too humiliated. Ha...ha...that...that was a thing. That was certainly a thing.

The fact that another small group of girls had passed by the photo as it flashed on screen and had remarked 'Awwww! Oh my god, look at the two in back.' 'They're cute.' 'You think they're together?' 'Probably. Too bad, though, I'd totally go for the one with blue hair.' 'Oh my god.' was enough to send Sans into jacket-hood village once more.

Undyne didn't waste any time giving a victorious fist-pump, pausing a moment before fishing out her own wallet, waiting for Papyrus to finish getting what would be taunting-fuel for a while before she got her own copy of it. "Man, this picture is /great./ I mean, you've got them, the look on Mettaton's face is /hysterical,/ and... Alphys is adorable in this, oh my god. ...Don't tell her that I'm keeping one."

Of course, right after she got done getting the picture, she'd have to harden back up that brawny exterior from softening heavily over cute things. Couldn't lose that appearance, could she? Besides, with the way Mettaton was going on to her, anyways, she'd probably have ample time to get one and hide it away in her wallet.

For the time being, though, Flowey wound up beside Sans, having to squint to see what exactly he seemed so tense over. It looked just like a normal picture--

...Oh.

Oh, wait.

There it was. Him looking horrified, and Sans looking like he was having a great time with what was happening.

Despite his embarrassment over the clinging, a smirk lit up his face, and he'd been /this/ close to making a jab when a passing conversation that was clearly about them came into earshot. Something about them being cute, and presumably together, which had him taking on a whole new level of flustered.

Then, came some off-handed remark about how one of them would definitely "go for" Sans.

He wasn't sure where it came from, but something tensed in his chest, something that could only be described as pure, unbridled jealousy. Despite the girls more than likely not seeing it, without a doubt, a glare was shot their way-- and, in some terrible, alternate universe in which he was a flower, it'd probably be much more menacing than it was on a tiny blond guy, but hey. Being a flower was a far-fetched thought, and impossible. He'd have to deal with being short and struggling to be menacing as it is, and maybe hope for a very late growth spurt to hit.

Sans had barely realized what was going on, which was particularly hilarious when one of the girls had looked back briefly and commented 'Hahaha, ohmigod, Tiffany, you've gotta stop hitting on other people's boyfriends, they get jealous!' Sans raised a brow, pulling his hood down once more and--well. He couldn't help but have a bit of a surprised look - eh, he was probably just annoyed that they mistook them for a couple, or something, though Sans wasn't about to correct them. Too much effort. The surprise faded just as soon as it arrived when he'd reached that far more logical conclusion.

Papyrus had slid the picture into his wallet as soon as he got it, and fully intended to put it in a small picture frame when they got home, just to have a little pleasant reminder around the house that yes, now both of us have had embarrassing moments at amusement parks, and he was definitely going to rub it in. Nyehehehehe!

Alphys was distracted by talking to Mettaton - and then seeing the little goings-on with Sans and Flowey, and yes her otp was getting shipteased so much yes otp.

As soon as Undyne had gotten the picture, the group remerged, with a look shared between the group that it was already progressing pretty well - perhaps one more ride or something, and then excuses would definitely be made. Progress was happening.

"OKAY, SO I PICKED THE FIRST RIDE! ANYONE ELSE WANT TO PICK THE SECOND?"

The comment, as if the picture hadn't left him flustered enough, absolutely had him red in the face, something he desperately tried to shake before everyone gathered back together, every part of him either scolding himself over getting jealous over something that didn't even matter, as well as not being able to retain any degree of calmness at the moment.

He needed to get it together, and get whatever was coming over him all of a sudden in check. He couldn't go on like this today. He wouldn't ever hear the end of it if he did.

"Oh-- guys, just hear me out." Undyne raised her hands, as if she were about to present a civil point or something of the likes to the group, but the grin that spread across her lips stated the opposite. "I say we hit the /biggest/ ride that there is around here, so every ride seems way easier for the rest of you guys that don't do so hot with them! Or, maybe one of those ones that you sit in the chairs with the chest guards. Y'know, the ones with the seats?"

"I don't know, I think we ought to save the best for last." Mettaton gave a shrug, letting out a hum of thought. "I, myself... am feeling up to something with loops. Maybe a lot of them, if at all possible."

Sans had seen that red tint, and was immediately....confused. Whaaaaa. He wasn't going to mention it, but he was still stuck with a sense of confusion. But his attention was taken to the rest when the group regrouped, some part of his mind still taken with the idea of '...maybe it wasn't just the thought of being mistaken for a couple? ...nah. as much as i'd....i don't know, would i like it? ....maybe?'

"I...I don't really want to get on another extreme ride right now." Alphys gulped. After briefly doing some research online before they'd gone, Alphys had quickly discovered that the biggest ride in terms of height was one of those towers that shot up to gaze over the entire park - and then dropped. She was more than likely to start actually crying during that one.

The biggest ride in terms of sheer size was another gigantic roller coaster that used two simultaneous tracks going at the same time. Neither were things she was willing to risk at the moment. The chairs were probably a better idea, though she had a feeling no matter what, she was going to feel unsteady. Same with the loops. Poor Alphys was not going to be getting off easy.

Sans had just shrugged - he was fine with anything...and still too confused to think properly. Papyrus was undoubtedly agreeing with Mettaton, though he was still struck with a bit of lingering doubt in the worse rides, too.

"Okay, gotta work smaller. Uhh." Undyne crumpled her brows in thought, folding her arms across her chest. She definitely should've known that, as much as she loved her, Alphys was kind of a wimp when it came to those sorts of things. It was fine, though! She could work with this.

Mettaton had fallen into thought, as well, but Undyne beat him to the punch, smiling triumphantly at what she was convinced was a great idea. "What about one of the water-ones? It'd be a little break from the big stuff."

Mettaton seemed indifferent to the notion, shrugging and making a note of "It'll do," Flowey giving a nod when a look was tossed his way.

For the moment, though, he had more focus-consuming things to think on for the moment-- namely, that being just enough confusion hinted on Sans's face for him to catch on a glance over, and the worry that he'd caught the whole debacle between himself and the girls without him realizing it. Of /all/ the times he couldn't be tangled up in conversation with his brother, why did it have to be right then?

Sans had merely shrugged when a look was cast his way, Alphys nodded - at least that would give her a bit to collect herself, and Papyrus was fine with it. So off to the water rides they went - though not before Alphys mentally noted that either her girlfriend was a genius, or absolutely oblivious concerning the fact that they were more than likely to end up with wet t-shirts, causing some very likely interesting reactions. Alphys was just happy to say nothing, though, because when your girlfriend recommends a ride that will get her shirt wet, you do not object. You simply sit and watch and enjoy the fanservice.That's what she'd learned from animu.

The ride they'd ended up going to was one where a large group sat in a raft together and it floated at a reasonably high speed down a hill filled with water and splashing. Luckily, their one, two, three, four, five, six group was a decent enough size to get one by themselves, and they'd managed to get a seat order of Undyne -> Alphys -> Mettaton -> Papyrus -> Sans -> Flowey, so everyone was close to the person they were aiming for, plus they were close to their friends, too. Papyrus did not miss the moment to whisper in Sans' ear that 'NOW WE ARE EVEN. NYEHEHEHEHE.' And Sans had a fairly good feeling what that meant. Dammit. He snorted and simply gave a look to Papyrus, though - 'bro, we're not even close to even. i've got embarrassing stories about you since you were in diapers. don't get me started.' Papyrus relented immediately at that look, knowing exactly what it meant.

Still, when the raft was released and it started splashing them, there wasn't much room to think. Alphys had gotten splashed first, stuck in the splash zone, as it were, and she probably felt it was a bit of karma thanks to her realization a few minutes earlier.

Admittedly, Undyne hadn't realized a single thing about the wet shirts that would result from the ride. She was more hyped about generally being drenched than realizing what exactly would happen /during/ being drenched, and those thoughts were goin to continue staying out of her mindset. No, for now, there were more excited things to focus on.

Those things being focused on namely being filing into the raft and looking thrilled to bits as it made it's way up the hill, Flowey was busy trying to peer around Sans to get a better look at where they were on the hill.

His timing was impeccable, it seemed, because the minute he looked down was the second the raft tipped and started it's descent.

There was excited cheering from the group, namely the front of the raft, only to be even remotely silenced when the head of the ride wound up getting promptly nailed in the face with a splash of water. See, /this/ is what she came to these parks for. To hook friends up, and to experience the best rides at their fullest.

When the ride finally came back to a stop, Undyne was the first off of it, her hands lifting to wipe some water from her face. Needless to say, she was /soaked,/ but the damp clothes and the ponytail that clung to her back didn't even remotely waver the grin that'd spread across her lips.

Flowey hadn't managed to avoid most of the splash via ducking behind the taller figures, only managing to keep his pants as the lone survivor of the water onslaught, and Mettaton wound up being one of those taller ones that got hit-- make-up, no matter how light he opted to keep it, hadn't been his best decision, leaving him doing what he could to wipe it from beneath black bangs that decided to stick to his face.

Needless to say, though, there wasn't any surprise to be seen when Undyne was already trying to talk at least Alphys into going on it again.

Alphys was drenched from head-to-toe, unfortunately for her, and of course Undyne was trying to talk her into going onto it again. Well, it was at least a bit refreshing...

Papyrus was definitely one of the taller ones on the ride, and no matter how much he never wanted to remove it, he had to take off his signature red scarf and wring it out. Sans was also not that lucky, tho he'd totally enjoyed the ride himself. Or, more accurately, he'd enjoyed everybody's expressions on the ride. And the fact that he had to see his brother get nailed in the face with a blast of water. He'd cackled at that as Papyrus gave him a glare...which ended up turning into them both laughing at it. Pap couldn't stay mad at him for long.

Sans had just nonchalantly rolled up his shirt a bit and tried to wring it out, making a face as the water landed on his shoes. Eh. Fuck it. He was just going to survive with a see-through shirt, even though he wasn't remotely comfortable with it. Probably would be better with no shirt at all. He did grin at the sight of drenched Flowey, though. Pff. Cute. No muscle to speak of, but--...why was that the first thought to come to mind? ...Weird. He did turn a bit pink, tho, and quickly looked away.

Alphys had bit her lip, and realized - oh, wait, this could be a good excuse to opt out! "Um, I guess I could go on the ride again..." She glanced at Undyne, then at Papyrus, Mettaton, then back to Undyne to see if they got the picture. "...none of you have to join, though. I'm sure you're all probably wet enough as is, ehe."

Though it took a few seconds, it clearly hit both Undyne and Mettaton what Alphys was getting at, the latter giving a knowing smile and a nod. Undyne, on the other hand, couldn't be seen much difference in her demeanor. That wasn't to mention when she derailed the subject before the other two could catch on to what was happening, though, giving Alphys a little nudge and pointing off in the distance. "Hey, after this, we /definitely/ should go over to that game over there. I think I'd definitely win."

For the time being, though, Flowey was preoccupied with taking a moment to people-watch. Just when he'd seen someone noteworthy, too, a giant of a human that towered /way/ above himself, he couldn't help but lean over to Sans, snickering and making a vague motion in that general direction. "Holy shit, Sans, look at that guy-- how is anyone that tall? How do they /live/?"

Before he'd been able to go on any further about how blown away he is by people of incredible heights, though, someone trying to get past hadn't taken the long way around. Instead, there was no hesitation with trying to squeeze past him, resulting in a harsh bump from the much-larger person than himself moving him as though he were nothing.

He didn't have much time to process it, either, seeing as how the bump wound up with a horrifyingly-accurately placed shove together with the one he'd been only close enough to mutter to before.

Nope, now, he was face-to-face with him. Not even in a clash of noses or something of the likes. He wasn't lucky enough for that. It was a more mouth-centric clash, something that had Flowey definitely looking a little pale once what was happening finally hit him, just a few seconds after he'd been shoved.

"...Oh. Oh, my gosh, Alphys, are you seeing this?" Mettaton was the first one to catch on, who's whole demeanor had practically lit up, a considerable change from where the water dampening his appearance had came as a trouble.

It only went downhill from there, too, especially when Undyne caught on, not hesitating to give a cheer and a toothy grin. "Holy shit, they did it! I'm so proud."

Short people - such as Sans and Flowey - are easily amused by tall people. Hence why Sans didn't think much, just thinking it was hilarious...though Papyrus was almost that tall. Almost. "pffhaha, yeah, h--" Oh. That was about when the shove happened ("--mm?!"), and--no, they weren't lucky enough to escape to just a collision. It had to be mouth on mouth accidental kiss collision. Uh. Well.

Alphys had immediately let out a small squeal of delight, how lucky was that, oh jeez, she was so happy. Papyrus had let out a thrilled fistpump in delight. "WOWIE! THEY FINALLY DID IT!"

Sans had turned bright red at the whole thing, though if he hadn't heard the cheering, he probably would've opted to smirk and try to brush it off. He wasn't so lucky this time. Now he was a bright red mess. Ha. Ha. If he had the confidence, perhaps he would've shrugged and just rolled with it, though he did not. He just had slowly pulled away, blinking, bright red. Um. Uh. So that just happened. And our friends are thrilled about it, god knows why, though it was another moment he wasn't likely to live down anytime soon.

"It all worked out after all." Alphys muttered quietly, a content smile on her face. Though it was debatable how exactly Sans and Flowey would both deal with it....Sans seemed to be settling for just awkward blinking and trying to get words out but utterly failing. Sans - the Sans who had a quip or a joke for damn near everything - was speechless. Amazing.

Without a doubt, Flowey was right there with the whole ordeal-- his face was a bright red, and he couldn't even get /attempts/ of words out. Just stunned silence at the very most, maybe a look tossed over towards the line if he could see just who was at fault for that, but he had no idea what they even looked like. Then again, he wasn't managing to piece together much right now-- especially not why their friends were so excitable about it happening to begin with. /That/ was something that he probably wouldn't be able to figure out, though, even if he wasn't stunned into an awkward silence.

He probably wouldn't have been nearly as shocked into silence if the whole thing hadn't been so /nice/ either, but-- no, shh. No. That wasn't even relevant to the point right now. Nope.

"Well, come on, darlings, we probably ought to stop dawdling." Mettaton gave a wave to usher them along, Flowey shooting him a look before starting to walk along, Mettaton only glancing back and shooting Alphys a smirk and a thumbs up before giving his attention to Papyrus. A much softer smile was given to him, and damp hair was pushed out of his own face once more (it was becoming a downhill battle with that, really), giving his arm the softest tap.

"So, sweetheart, where to next, hm? I'm sure you know your way around here far better than I do."

Sans definitely could've let that go on a little longer, if he hadn't been surprised it'd happened in the first place. Now, if he'd actually had the idea to initiate it, and it was just the two of them and no one they knew? Then he'd probably have let that go on a little while longer. As it was now, though? He just had to follow along with everyone else. It didn't help that when Papyrus had caught up to him, he'd nudged Sans and whispered "CONGRATULATIONS, BROTHER." That had gotten Sans to just stutter out one word, which was "um."

It was very likely that Sans' vocabulary for a good while would be restricted to 'um', 'uh', and the elusive 'okay'. As much as he'd liked to have just casually smirked and said '...shot in the friggin' dark, but ya wanna do somethin' sometime?' with a sly wink, no, he wasn't capable of that. And...well, there was no use denying it at this point. Shit.

How weird is it to have a crush on the son of your previous crush? Very weird.

Especially when he was arrogant, smug, sarcastic, and yet at the same time kinda adorable and he never actually minded being around him as time went on. Sure at the beginning it was kinda rough, but now? Now it just kinda felt...natural. Like that was how things were supposed to be. He hadn't ever really thought of kissing him before, though, though now that it'd happened he wasn't really able to stop thinking about it no matter how much he tried. Most everything else was kind of white noise, though he'd followed along with the rest of the group.

Papyrus must've suggested going to play the games just to let themselves dry off before the next thrill ride, and everyone seemed content with that. Most of the time, that was where Sans excelled because he knew the dirty tricks of these people hosting games, because he'd ended up working at a hot dog stand at a park similar to this one at one time, and they'd shared some of the secrets, but it was unlikely he'd be able to summon up the knowledge now despite Papyrus often having gotten absolutely ecstatic over getting some plushie that Sans had managed to con out of the con-artists. (Papyrus' favorite plushie he'd gotten that way was a gigantic Pikachu. Sans' personal favorite was the time he'd won them both capes at Six Flags - one of Superman for Papyrus, one of Batman for himself. Papyrus still wore that cape on occasion as a sort of security cape that made him feel safe and strong.)

At any rate, Sans had to wonder why it'd all just hit him at once now...and why he was actually hoping that sooner or later, that...would happen again. And he'd manage to make it intentional that time.

....Ugh, wow. If he wasn't still so shocked, he'd probably have gotten a bitter smile over how strange his mind was to think of that and have himself actively agree with it.

If there was a single doubt that Flowey's own train of thought was right there with Sans's, it'd probably be a doubt rooted in him trying to be any degree of composed during this whole mess. What would his past self have said if he would've seen him like this? Christ. He would've been a mockery. Even if everyone seemed way more excited about this whole thing, probably including his parents, if they ever found out about the whole ordeal.

There was no part of him that was able to deny the fact that he absolutely falling nicely into the idea of working with doing a little more than tolerating Sans, though. As purely bizarre as it was, there was some part of him that was shifting slowly from mere acceptance, to... enthusiasm? Excitement, almost?

God, what was /with/ him today?

Regardless of getting getting lost in thought, though, he snapped back to attention when Mettaton had taken to choosing a game, looking it over and thinking on it. Mettaton wasn't an idiot-- he knew these things were rigged. Just about any game was, these days. It was a showman's right of passage to learn that. Now, the matter was figuring out how to get around the trick to this one, especially with how excited Papyrus had gotten over one of the prizes being offered.

The distraction from mulling too much in his head came as something that was more than welcome, a nudge being given to Sans before he waved over to the booth, as well as the sight of Mettaton piecing together just how to win the ordeal. "I don't know how he plans on doing that. I'm pret-ty sure all these things are impossible to win unless you know /exactly/ how. Hey, I give him an A for effort, though."

Sans had drifted back to Earth around the same time, and he nodded. "yep. it's almost guaranteed. i've worked out the tricks for most of 'em, and that took me a while." A while and a few interesting conversations with workers, including an incredibly depressed guy who claimed he was wasting his life away at 19 years of age. Sans almost felt sorry for the guy, but he clearly had problems with the sheer freaky expressions he had on his face at times. Like, 'I probably have twenty corpses stashed away at my mom's house, also don't look in the freezer in the back' problems. Eeegh. Sans was glad that he'd gotten out of that job selling 'dogs when someone caught him sleeping on the job. (Then again, all he'd said in his defense was 'hehe, whoops.' He still had at least 4 other jobs to get to during that timespan anyway.)

Alphys, meanwhile, had wandered over to one of those 'test your strength' machines, her eyes widening as she noticed...noooo...couldn't be....IT WAS. GIANT ICHIGO PLUSHIE FROM TOKYO MEW MEW. She wasn't sure where they got the prizes around here from, but her eyes had gone to the size of saucers. The pink catgirl was hers. She quickly handed the guy who ran it a dollar, and slammed the hammer down...only to land on 'not quite a weenie', with an ashamed expression on her face. Ohhh. Jeez. She was not strong in the slightest, bless her little anime-watching heart.

Papyrus was watching Mettaton try to figure out the trick, an excited smile on his face. Maybe he could do it? Mettaton was great at everything, most everything. Though even things like that game had given Sans trouble...for a few attempts, at least. Every other time he'd given the vendor a small smirk, slid a dollar to them, and won with only a little effort. They were always annoyed when Sans did that...which made him crack up. Papyrus had faith in his own soulmate, though. He could totally do it!

"Seriously? I bet that was hell, figuring out as many of 'em as your probably did." He snickered, watching as Mettaton didn't quite seem to get it the first time, but instead of falling into frustrations, it seemed like he had a spark of realization. A mumble was passed over to Papyrus, something that looked to be along the lines of, "Hold on, I've got this," before he was taking a couple more shots at it, seeming as though he were slowly but surely piecing together just what to do each time around. It was a process, it seemed.

Not too far away, though, once she'd gotten her ponytail wrung out, Undyne managed to catch up with the shorter girl, something initially rubbing her the wrong way about the too-amused looking operator of the booth. Despite the narrowed eyes that were shot his way at first, though, she soon cracked a smile, giving Alphys a pat to get her to scoot over before money was given his way, and fingers were cracked. With little delay, the hammer was picked up, and once she got herself prepared, the hammer was steadied on her shoulder, and swung down only a second later.

The ringing sound that came right after the hit was jarring, and not too far away, it'd wound up admittedly catching Mettaton off guard during mid-throw... which, somehow, absolutely worked out in his favor. Yep, he'd nailed it. He'd just roll with that small victory, and didn't waste a moment to gesture to the booth for Papyrus to go choose the prize he wanted. A glance over showed that he'd probably owe Alphys a quick thanks later for getting her lovely powerhouse involved in her own game, when the coincidence wouldn't be revealed as just that to anyone else. He had a successful appearance to keep up, after all.

"naaaah....well. it was more talking to a few of the creeps who i worked with at the time and hoping the creepy wasn't contagious. luckily, it wasn't." Sans had only barely noticed the correlation between Undyne winning and Mettaton getting really lucky when he was thrown off guard, which caused him to snort. That was incredibly lucky, and Papyrus seemed shocked that it was accomplished at all - before immediately wrapping his arms around his soulmate in a hug and kissing him on the cheek, and then letting go to run over and--after scanning the rows--take a plushie of a My Little Pony (Pinkie Pie, to be exact). Papyrus has no need for shame, he is the great Papyrus.

Alphys had squealed happily, taking the Ichigo plushie from the operator who looked mildly terrified and probably half-expected the bell to go soaring off into the sky. She gave her new plushie a gigantic hug before tugging her tall girlfriend down to give her a kiss.

Sans folded his arms behind his head, immediately feeling awkward from the other two who were giving and getting affecti--...wait a second. Soulmates, soulmates, so--OH, GODDAMMIT, THEY ACTUALLY PLANNED THIS OUT, DIDN'T THEY. He cracked a bitter smile at that realization, and Papyrus was going to have a /long/ talk with Sans about how interfering with your brother's love life is a horrible idea, though also thank you and it worked out well kinda? ...Kinda. It was still that awkward stage where they were trying to pretend it didn't happen, wasn't it?

...Yeah, it was. Welp. Everyone else was distracted, weren't they? Sans. You can do this, alright? You've hit on plenty of girls before...guys, not really, but that wasn't a big deal. Point was he'd hit on people before and he could totally...totally muster up the courage to say something. More accurately, say something without ruining his usual cool exterior and turning into 'uh....um....we should go out! Together! Just us! On a date!' He could do this. He could remain cool. You got this, Sans. The ball is in your court and you are going to slam dunk the shit out of it.

"by the way. just tossing weird ideas out there, buuuuut hey, if you're not too busy sometime, maybe we could give going on a date an actual try?" He said this entirely as nonchalantly as possible - which was surprisingly well considering his current feeling of 'HAHA I JUST MADE THINGS WEIRD, DIDN'T I;;; WHOOPS'

"That's debatable." A smirk was tossed back his way, his brows lifting in obvious amusement. Flowey, much to his amusement, had absolutely noticed the correlation to the two happenings. He'd been waiting to see how Mettaton would do it, and it was clear to see that he'd wound up tensing up just before he won. Not that he was going to make a jab about it, though. Especially not with something that looked grim hinting at Sans's smile, leaving him more than a little puzzled. What was that about?

A look around had the realization hit him, though. ...Oh. That was sneaky. Disgustingly so. Yet... not badly planned out, he'd give them that. Nor had it gone too badly, sure, but that didn't stop the disbelief from tinging his own smile.

Only a few seconds passed, though, before Sans had caught his attention again. Tossing out weird ideas? That never led to anything good, not that he was aware of. As Sans went on, though, surprise made itself unintentionally obvious on his features, though the most he couldn't restrain as far as his face went was brows lifted as the question was finally given.

God, he was doing a really mediocre job at being casual about this whole thing. Not in voice, of course, but the look all over his face read "nervous as hell" without a single doubt. If Flowey would've been more prepared, he probably would've made a little taunting note of "Oh, what, this isn't a date?", but he didn't have it in him.

Instead, a tentative smile was cracked, before he fought to treat the whole thing as casually as possible. Which wasn't much better than Sans was doing, actually.

"I don't see why not. I mean, I've got time, y'know."

Yeah, he knew that wasn't gonna wo--....wait. That was a yes. That was a yes. Hah, holy crap, that was a success, and the surprise obviously showed on his face before he tried to hide it once more. Half of him expected 'What? You're sick, and that's still sick. We agreed not to do anything like that.' and the other half expected 'Pff. Hilarious. Yeah, not likely.' But no. The response was in the positive, and that was when the realization kicked in that there was now a whole new set of nerves to worry about. Hahaha, it'd...it'd been a while since he went on an actual date as is. He'd actually have to genuinely thank Papyrus later for kickstarting the whole thing to begin with, although he did expect a bone-crushing hug from his younger brother with cheers of 'I KNEW YOU TWO WERE THE PERFECT COUPLE FROM THE START! I KNEW IT!'

And to be fair, yeah, Papyrus had been the first one to actively support the relationship, other than Alphys. So okay, he'd totally let Papyrus crush him with enthusiasm, especially since he'd probably be laughing too. If Past Sans thought about any of this, he'd've been disgusted, but....nope. Now he was perfectly cheerful with it, though he made every attempt to not look it - even if it was obvious that his usual lazy grin was a bit more genuine than usual, and, yeah, he did look the slightest bit more nervous. "alright. great!"

He'd briefly taken out his cellphone and sent a text to Alphys, Undyne, and Papyrus, if only to calm some of his nerves by making a joke about the whole situation.

'by the way.   
you don't have to hide the fact that you were trying to set us up anymore.   
we know.   
you're all conniving assholes.   
thanks.'

From Alphys' immediate reaction of snorting and laughing, her laughter muffled by her new plushie, yeah, that was definitely what they were intending.


	9. Dating: SUCCESS!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'My nights are warmer than firecoals  
> Incense and stars and smoke bamboo  
> But nights were warm beyond compare  
> If I could share  
> My nights with you'

Honestly, if whoever had wound up shoving him hadn't gotten that fleeting kiss going and jumbled his thoughts in some sort of flustered, affectionate confusion that bewildered him to no end, he might've made a joke and wound up turning it down out of sheer surprise. It wasn't as though he hadn't considered it briefly, though-- now, he just had to be thankful that Sans asked first, and he didn't have to work up the nerve to do it himself.

There /was/ a moment of hesitation before he did speak back up, though, more mumbling off thoughts to himself than actually pitching suggestions at Sans.

"I have classes the rest of the week, but. The weekend's definitely free. Or something. I don't know." He effectively talked himself into a circle, unable to notice Mettaton snooping on whatever text it was that Papyrus had gotten, snickering and tossing a glance up to them. A wink and a smirk was offered their way with little hesitation.

As hard as Undyne was trying to avoid laughing, though, once she'd checked her phone, she glanced over to Alphys, raising a brow and settling a hand on her hip. "So... does that mean it worked? Or did they just figure it out?"

"weekend definitely works for me." Yes, everyone can be glad for that, especially Sans. Definitely especially Sans.

Alphys looked over towards the two, then quickly back at her girlfriend. "From the way they're looking at each other? ...I definitely think it worked."

Papyrus had managed to hear bits and pieces of the conversation - moreso because he was in closer proximity - and he was ecstatic.

'THEY'RE GOING ON A DATE!!!!   
WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO PUSH THEM TO DO IT!   
SANS JUST ENDED UP ASKING HIM!'

'bro i'm still in the conversation.   
and yeah. we are.   
congrats.   
you people are weird.   
can you not spy on this one?   
i, uh'

Sans quickly glanced around to make sure Flowey wasn't looking - and hopefully he wasn't, or if he'd ended up glancing over at the last second, Sans hadn't noticed.

'i /really/ don't want to mess this up.   
like. a lot.   
i want it to go well. i know. might sound dumb but i do kinda sorta like him a lot.   
so i'll handle my romantic life from here, kay?'

'AWWWW! OKAY!'

'young love is adorable wwwww'

Fortunately for Sans, Mettaton seemed to have skimmed just enough conversation to take it upon himself as his duty to keep Flowey preoccupied, pulling him aside to discuss date plans, maybe even pitch a few ideas at him. (It was mostly him pitching ideas at him, being the wonderfully helpful guy he is.) It wasn't exactly a topic that Flowey had been ready to discuss, especially with some guy that he'd just met today, but... despite all reluctance, Mettaton at least seemed to know what he was talking about.

Even if half the stuff he went on about was tossed out the window, and hadn't been even remotely good ideas, the encouragement talk was appreciated. Regardless of how many eye-rolls were given it's way.

'I told you guys an amusement park would be a great idea!   
Also, Sans, I won't lie to you.   
You're my friend. We all appreciate you a lot.   
You kiiind of suck at asking people out, though.   
Or did suck at it, since this looks like it went pretty well and all.   
But, hey! Good job!   
Our job is done here, you got this! ୧( ⁼̴̶̤̀ω⁼̴̶̤́ )૭   
(Or, had it.   
Considering Mettaton stole your man.   
Sorry about that.)'

After the text was delivered, Undyne looked up and gave an actual thumbs up, grinning over to Papyrus and looking fairly pleased with herself. Go team, good job. This was a great success for the shipper's club.

'hey, i'm the best at asking people out.   
i have got a whole collection of numbers that i haven't used.   
papyrus can vouch.'

'I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST THAT ONE GIRL AND MAYBE ONE OTHER GUY YOU THOUGHT WAS A GIRL THAT WE MET AT THE MOVIE THEATER ONE TIME.'

'that was a guy???'

'YEAH.'

'....huh. long hair threw me off.   
anyway. pap why is your man stealing mine.   
...........   
did i literally just type that with no hesitation.   
shit.'

'THAT'S HOW IT ALL BEGINS, ISN'T IT?   
ALPHYS WHAT'S AN APPROPRIATE LITTLE FACE-THING FOR THIS MOMENT?'

'(´｡• ω •｡`) ♡   
or even ( ˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘ )   
make sure to invite us to the wedding btw   
and wear protection, even before your wedding night, you have to be careful'

'it'S NOT THAT FAR YEt'

'awwwww sans is embarrassed'

'sHUT UP ALPHYsss'

This was a total victory for the Matchmaking Club. Even if it had led to a swift retreat by Sans into jacket-hood village.

'She has a point, Sans.   
Protection is everything.   
And...   
I might be wrong here, but it looks like that's exactly what Mettaton's going on about now!'

A look up would prove that, without a doubt, that seemed to be the subject of what Mettaton's lecture was turning into. Not much could be heard, depending on where one was standing in comparison to the two, but Flowey's face hadn't ever been redder. He kept trying to interject protests, all of them heeded by the taller man with something along the lines of "Okay, but--" before he'd started going on again.

It even got to the point where Flowey gave up and gave a frustrated, heavy sigh, Mettaton giving him a pat on the back and a grin.

'Yeah, no.   
He's done for, just look at that face.'

Sans turned bright red at the thought, trying not to think too much about it.

'oh my god.   
you people are the worst.'

'hey at least we're not making doujins about it   
...yet ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)   
i wonder how the seme/uke dynamic is wwwwww'

'you are sick.   
i'm not surprised but you are sick.'

'i'm just kidding anyway   
unless those would actually sell   
original characters do not steal doujin not about my friends www'

'EWWWWWW.'

'hey at least your boyfriend knows about protection papyrus'

'i'm done with all of you.   
just so very fucking done.'

Sans glanced back at Flowey and saw his equally red expression, with equal levels of 'done', causing a slightly amused grin, though when he realized what had probably been noted it turned into a very resigned expression. Haaaah. At least the sun was finally setting.

'oh wait i've got an idea   
it's a bit overdone but hear me out   
ferris wheel   
i mean two people to each seat i don't see where this could go wrong'

'OOH! PRETTY SUNSET AND EVERYTHING! THAT SOUNDS GREAT!'

'that's what i was thinking   
and then we all get into the smushed car and go to our separate houses   
or not ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) '

'works for me.'

Sans seized this as the opportunity to at least stop any further sex talk from happening, putting his phone away and walking over to his poor soulmate and Mettaton. "hey, we're all going to the ferris wheel, if you're done over here."

Once Mettaton had caught up with Papyrus, Sans couldn't help but snicker, walking side by side with Flowey, following the group. "i'm guessing most of whatever he said is probably nothing you expected or wanted to hear today. was it that bad?"

"Oh, I think we are." Mettaton gave a nod, a pat being given to Flowey and a wink shot his way before he was off, leaving the shorter of the two looking a subtle degree of mortified. At least he didn't waste any time catching up with Papyrus, winding up snagging his arm to hold onto, excitedly going on about something up there. Probably nothing he cared to hear about any further.

"You're telling me." Flowey let out a huff, making a face at even recollecting what he'd been told. "I wish you guys would've decided all that sooner, but at least you stopped him when you did. He was getting into the leather part of the explanation. If there was any way I could go back in time and keep that from happening, I would in a /heartbeat./ He said if they weren't giving you the run-down of all of it, too, apparently he's got you covered. I'd... avoid that, if I were you. Trust me."

Once he'd managed to take his mind off of the hellish lesson that he'd unnecessarily been given, he managed to take a look up to the distance, and true to everyone's word, spotted a ferris wheel. "So, we're having the evening's big cliche conclusion, right? I mean, I should've probably seen it coming."

All smirking and joking aside, though, it wasn't a bad way to conclude the evening. The weather was nice, the sunset was nice, and as long as he didn't get caught up in looking down, it'd be really nice. None of this was going to be admitted out loud, though, that was for sure.

Sans couldn't help but immediately shake his head, yeah, no thank you, Mettaton's Sex Ed was definitely something that he was going to pass up and he was already looking a bit mortified at the mention of leather or something, oh, jeez, he, uh...he didn't skimp on the explanations there, did he? Papyrus sure knew how to...how to pick a winner. Christ.

Taking his mind off of that weirdness. "wasn't my idea, at least. but yeah, looks like it." Sans certainly didn't mind, though. Alphys had sent one last text he'd barely seen about 'making a move', and he was far too nervous to do much, but...maybe something. There'd be a right moment. There always was for these sort of things...probably. He'd know.

The rest seemed happy, at least. Papyrus was happily chattering away, Alphys had latched onto Undyne's arm with an affectionate smile, and...okay, he needed to stop being such a weenie about this shit. Not even thinking about it - just...

JUST DO IT, SANS. DON'T LET YOUR DREAMS BE DREAMS.

Right. Thank you, inspirational mental meme. As they continued walking, he just reached out a bit, and took the hand of his soulmate's that was closest to him and. Holding hands. This is step 1. Yesssss.

Okay, at least now, he had time to take his own mind off that mess as well. Mettaton seemed like a good guy and all, and had good intentions, but-- yeah, no. Never talking to him about things of that caliber again. Instead, he'd just take to snickering about how ridiculous the idea was, and how it was an idea straight out of a shitty romance movie. These people were something else.

Before he could make another snide remark about it, or maybe about how he couldn't believe how obvious it'd been that they'd try to set up a soulmate-based group date, though, his attention wasn't able to hold onto that for too long. Especially not when his hand was taken.

Nope. All focus on anything was voided at that moment. He hadn't expected anything to happen today, but apparently, the accidental kiss had been a whole gateway to other affections and more bold moves between the two.

Not that he was complaining, of course, even if it did have his stomach feeling as though it were doing a nervous somersault.

He wasn't exactly sure what to say, either. What did someone say in a situation like this? He had no idea. It didn't seem like an appropriate time for a sarcastic remark, one made out of a pure loss at what else to say, at least. All his old methods of saving face were really starting to fail him with this whole Sans situation, it was killing him. He was lucky that this whole thing was pitching a whole new plethora of weird emotions at him that was definitely dampening that bitterness he'd grown so used to consistently having.

Weird emotions in tow, though, he only paused a fleeting second before returning the hand-holding, a fleeting glance being taken over. Boy, was this sure a thing that was happening, apparently. (A thing he wasn't even remotely minding at all.)

Apparently today was the day Sans just suddenly stopped being a weenie, which was amazing, though he was still caught in the eternal struggle of 'I'm doing this right, right?' But yes. It seemed like he was indeed doing it right. Heh. It was kinda funny, the whole thing - they'd gone from utterly denying any possibility of romance, to actively trying to avoid it, to acceptance as friends at least, and now it was actually fading into romance after all...which neither of them seemed to mind in the least. Maybe that whole soulmate thing could be right after all.

And yeah, okay, Alphys could not claim anymore that Sans did not make a move, because even if it was at least a small one, yep. Move was made. And....ha, it actually did now look like they were at least...together. Were they? ...He actually kinda wanted the answer to be 'yes.' At any rate, at least it was obvious they weren't just friends anymore.

The rest of the group had gotten on the ride, Alphys happily snuggling into Undyne, Papyrus trying to ever-so-casually wrap his arm around Mettaton...and then there was these two, holding hands. Sans had somehow just decided to fight through the embarrassment, even if he wasn't sure what to say and he was just a constant shade of light pink.

But as they sat side-by-side on the ride, the sun setting ahead, Sans couldn't help but think that this day had turned out the best it could've after all.


	10. It's Raining Somewhere Else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Well, who'd have known?'
> 
> 'Well, who indeed?'
> 
> 'And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?'
> 
> 'It's so peculiar. Wait and see'
> 
> 'We'll wait and see  
> A few days more  
> There may be something there that wasn't there before'

Despite the evening being mostly quiet between the two, it wasn't exactly a pressured silence-- more of a nervous one than anything, but it wasn't as though the air was heavy with words going instead. Besides, between his focus being torn between the sunset and the hand that'd latched onto his own, he wasn't exactly too full of things to talk about at the moment.

The drive home wasn't exactly eventful, either. The exhaustion from a bustling day was probably setting in, and soon enough, everyone was at their rightful homes. Or, more so, Undyne dropped Flowey and the siblings off at their home, and Flowey took the short walk back to his apartment from there. The rest of the week wasn't all that eventful either, and mostly either tangled up in classes, or finishing work that he'd left sitting for far too long with deadlines closing in fast. He'd even gone as far as to put aside some time to actually visit his mother for the first time in ages.

There wasn't even any malicious intent to the trip. It was just a visit for tea that didn't involve him being scolded, that was all.

That being all as long as the fact of him being mortified about his upcoming date, of course, and the lack of anything he knew to do for it. What did one even do for a date? He hadn't exactly been on any. He wasn't even a particularly romantically inclined person, much less well-versed in /outings./

Fortunately for him, she gave him an easy-to-do option, and probably one of the most cliche ones imaginable: getting some food, and watching a movie. Why didn't he think of that? It didn't even have to be anything too flashy-- knowing Sans, and his preferences to stay at home given the opportunity, it'd probably just be some sort of cozy get-together.

He'd let Sans figure that much out, though, after he shot him a haphazard text too late at night (and the night before, at that) with the suggestion, only after getting the number from Papyrus.

'Howdy!  
This is Flowey, just in case you didn't realize.  
I realized that we didn't talk about what we were doing tomorrow at all.  
Not even once. Which was a bad idea, and putting it off until this late was an even worse one.  
But I got suggestions, and the majority vote went for food and a movie?  
That's up to you, though. I'll probably be just peachy with whatever either way!'

Before he let himself type anything else out, though, he banned himself from his phone privileges, winding up sleeping into the afternoon the following day. Time management and a good sleep schedule weren't exactly his strongest suits.

Sans had spent most of the week either at one of his constant jobs...or napping, hoping to take his mind off of the fact that oh jeez he'd hardly realized what he'd done until the next morning and he was still kind of surprised he actually did it. Papyrus had definitely delivered on that bone-crushing hug, though, and Sans had laughed even if his brother clearly did not know his own strength in terms of hug potential. But Sans had ended up just eating one of those shitty lunchables meals he'd gotten for himself when he was too lazy to make something for himself or Papyrus was too worn out to force him to eat spaghetti, and then he went to sleep. The rest of the week, it'd been a stream of him working, and then sleeping when he wasn't working. That had worked fairly well, until the days got closer.

The one day he had off in the middle of the week, Papyrus had immediately started questioning him about it and telling him that 'METTATON TOLD ME A LOT OF INTERESTING THINGS! IF YOU EVER NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING, YOU JUST NEED TO ASK ME!' Sans immediately looked horrified and brushed it off with a 'nah, bro, i'm...i'm good.' He'd managed to distract Papyrus from it after a while by putting on My Little Pony and watching it with him and his new Pinkie Pie plushie, which he absolutely adored. Though Sans' mind was mostly a blur of 'oh jeez. it's soon, isn't it? yep. it's soon. it's soon. gonna screw it up. gonna screw it up and probably look like an idiot. not gonna be surprised when i do that, at least.'

Sans' low self esteem was not ever really any help in times like this.

Meanwhile, Toriel was just thrilled that everything had gone well. Awww. Her little boy had found an excellent match....even if it was strange to think that Sans had moved on from liking her to liking her son. Oh well. She did know Sans well enough from a few conversations that they'd shared that he was very very likely to just opt for the easiest option...and speaking of conversations, immediately after her son had left, she'd managed to text Sans.

'I just heard the news! Congratulations!  
I just wanted to let you know, Sans...  
If you two ever need anything, I'm here.  
But if you hurt him in any way shape or form, I'll be the one to make sure that your death is as slow and painful as possible.  
Are we clear on that front?'

'...hahaha...  
i'm glad i know you're 100% serious about this and i'm completely terrified.  
yeah, we're crystal clear, tori!  
i'd never do anything to hurt him.'

'Good! Good luck.  
I'm sure it will all go well. Asriel seems to like you quite a bit. <3  
...Oh, and Frisk says hello, and she misses you both.'

'thanks, tori.  
i like him a lot, too. i really hope it goes well.  
and tell the kiddo i said hey. frisk and i gotta hang out soon. hope she remembers she said she wanted to watch kiki's delivery service with me, so we've gotta do that. :D '

So that had gone relatively well. The night before, when Sans had received the text, he'd been awake already - just got home from a shift at the convenience store he'd been working at for a week or so, and he was worn out, though he'd immediately been shot through with a bolt of nervous energy when he realized what it was about.

'oh, hey!  
yeah, that was probably a bad idea, putting it off until now, haha.  
but that sounds good to me.'

And he'd barely dragged himself to sleep, immediately bolting up in the afternoon with the thought of 'IT'S TODAY.' Okay, he had to--shit, right, take a shower, comb his messy-ass hair, put on decent looking clothes, he could manage, he could totally manage! ...Though it was entirely strange for him to care this much, and once he'd gotten done with that, even he was surprised that he kinda looked at least 15 times better than before.

When Flowey finally managed to get up, at first, the time escaped him. It was still the usual time he woke up, right? Around ten o'clock or so? Yeah, it had to be, he always woke up right around in that area. The routine morning phone-check showed it to be one o'clock already, though, sending a jolt straight to his nerves, peeling himself out of bed and messily typing out a message as he scavenged around for clothes.

'Okay.  
So.  
I kind of overslept a little bit.  
Juuust a little bit!  
I'll be headed out soon.  
Or. Kind of soon.  
I'll let you know when I figure it out.'

With the text sent, his phone was cast aside, and the rush to look at least decent was on. He didn't get exactly any length of gussied up or anything like that-- a button-up shirt was thrown on, though, and a fruitless attempt at getting his messy hair in some sort of order was tried. Well... at least he didn't look as quickly thrown together in his appearance as he usually did, at least? It'd have to work for the time being.

Once one last quick text was sent out, too, just a little head's up that he was actually getting moving, he was out the door, making more haste than he'd probably admit to with the brief walk to the Gaster brother's home. It only took about ten minutes or so to get there, and once he was there, for once, he actually had to wait outside instead of heading right in with Papyrus as he usually did. There was a fleeting moment of hesitation as he stood outside the door, before he managed to toss whatever needless nervousness that'd bubbled up out of the way, lifting his hand to knock. Now, he waited, and hoped he hadn't shown up /too/ late.

Oh. Crap. It's time. He heard that knock. It's time. Alright. You can do this, Sans. Just...eternal mental pep talk about this situation. He took a deep breath - ugh, he didn't even have Papyrus here to tell him it was going to be okay. Papyrus had planned immediately to 'get out of the way' today, and Alphys had been glad to extend an offer to have him over for a while - Papyrus needed to see a new anime she found that was simply adorable called 'Onegai My Melody' or something like that, anyway. So Papyrus had left earlier, with a wink to Sans and a yell of 'I'M LEAVING NOW, BROTHER! YOU CRAZY KIDS HAVE FUN! WEAR PROTECTION!'

That had been enough for Sans to give Papyrus a look, which made the taller of the two brothers crack up, having been on the opposite end of the joking for once. He'd left, though not without encouraging Sans that 'YOU HARDLY LOOK LIKE YOURSELF, BROTHER! ...NOT THAT LOOKING LIKE YOU IS A BAD THING, BUT YOU'RE A LOT MORE CLEAN. THAT'LL HELP! JUST BE YOURSELF, OKAY?' ...Sans had to question of 'himself' was really likable enough to want to be that, that usual spot of self-doubt creeping in.

But now he was answering the door, trying his best to not look as nervous as he secretly felt. "uh, hey! c'mon in." It was still the slightest bit obvious, especially since for the past month they'd known each other, Sans usually didn't give a shit about his appearance, and usually didn't greet him with more than a 'sup?' or a nod, at the most.

IT'S ALL DIFFERENT AND STRANGE AND SANS DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DATE. THE JAPANESE DATING SIMS ALPHYS SENT HIM OVER THE INTERNET DIDN'T HELP. ESPECIALLY NOT THE ONE WITH THE DOG. IT DIDN'T HELP. HELP.

Sorry, Sans, but dating sims won't help you now. Just like skipping through the romance section of Netflix didn't help Flowey whatsoever. Everyone seemed so /confident/ in it, how did they do that? ...Well. Through the persuasion of good acting and a well-paid career, probably. But that was beside the point.

The point was is that he was definitely NOT ready at the moment, and even less ready when the door opened to reveal Sans looking... good. Not to say he didn't always look good in his own very Sans way, but well-groomed this time. Clean, even.

He was even getting a nice greeting, instead of the usual casual one. This was /really/ something else, and he didn't exactly know how to feel about it.

"Oh-- thanks." A smile was offered his way, one that he used to hopefully mask whatever nervousness tinged his features, fixing the collar of his shirt and closing the door behind him. "So, uh. You look... really nice."

Wow, a genuine compliment, that felt bizarre coming out of him. He needed to get to something less uneasy /fast./ "So... what's the plan, then? Or are we just winging it?"

 ...That was a genuine compliment that definitely got a grin out of Sans. "hehe. thanks." Success! Hahaha, this whole 'actually trying to look good' thing had worked out after all! Sans was surprisingly pleased with himself. He still had to calm his nerves, though. They were both little bundles of nerves and confused affection, probably both equal in that regard. Though Sans would've easily admitted that he may have been worse off in the nerves department.

Alright, remember what your little bro reminded you -be yourself. It's not like it would be much different from the last month-or-so, right? Just the usual, snarky comments, and maybe he could toss in a flirt here and there, and if he was lucky, he'd definitely go for a kiss, and if he was really really really luck--okay, let's not go there. We're starting with just being friends with more flirting and maybe kissing and then we'll worry about that sort of thing much much much later. And that wasn't helping, thinking about that.

Just do what you'd normally do.'pff. i don't plan. planning's too much work--' No! That's...that's bad, you'd...he was worth the work! .....These feelings are weird. So you couldn't do it exactly how you'd normally do. Don't come off as too weird, and...he had to keep second-guessing himself, didn't he?

"....well, i mean. we only just barely decided on this yesterday, so nope, i didn't plan anything. hehe. whoops."

As far as Flowey could think back, he'd never seen Sans act /this/ nervous over anything. Sometimes it'd tinge his grins, or he'd get a little tense, but this was something new entirely. As easily flustered and knocked into his own nervous habits as Flowey was, too, it was starting to seem like he was going to have to be the conversationally guiding one this time around.

At least until he could maybe get Sans to ease up, even a bit. That'd be a good start, right?

"Okay, winging it. That's fine." He offered a smile, falling into a more thoughtful look. So, he knew movies and food was the general idea, but... there were so many varieties of that plan. Were they actually going out, or staying in? Maybe a mix of both, or doing one or the other? He had no idea. Brows crumpled lightly as he wound up getting tangled in his own thoughts, he brushed them aside, figuring outside input would probably be the best way to go with this.

"Hey, I don't have any real preferences here, so I figure I should probably ask. Do you want to go out, or hang around here?" A curious brow was lifted his way, and there went his hand again, trailing up to run through the back of his hair. If he shoved away all nervousness in his voice, or most of it at least, it had to get let out /some/ way, right? That's what he figured, anyways.

Oh, yep, he was nervous and trying to hide it - not very well, obviously. They were both constant bundles of nerves and gdi Sans hated being nervous but this time he couldn't help it, and there was nothing around to get him to stop being nervous, no overdramatic Undyne or Papyrus being...Papyrus, or hell, he'd go for anything really but THERE IS NO ESCAPE THIS IS FIRST DATE NERVES, SANS.

Still, it was kinda almost darkly hilarious, considering the fact that this was the first time he'd actually felt the impact of FIRST DATE NERVES. Most of his other dates with other people? Nope. No nerves. Usual Sans not giving a shit attitude. (Then again, the other people he'd dated had been...one girl in 5th grade, that girl who played Belle at Disney - what was her name, Tsunderplane?, and Toriel.) This time, he gave a shit and he hated giving a shit and aaaagh goddammit Sans get it together!

Okay, you're being talked to, get it together, dumbass. Just forget this is a date. Don't forget to act when the time is right, but forget the fact that you're supposed to be nervous because you are Sans and Sans is never truly nervous.

Even though they both obviously are. What nerds.Then again, the same exact thing had happened to all the others on their first dates, and only Mettaton was built of such constant confidence that it didn't appear to have affected him in the least. Not that Sans would know.

Anyway! He'd collected himself a bit to not sound as blatantly nervous in his voice as he was before...don't be that obvious about it, Sans.

"i'd probably be fine with anything, too, but, hey, if we just stick around here, won't be any different from usual." He took his hand, opening the door, and leading the way out.

Oh, Mettaton being any better off than they were right now was a joke-- he'd just been so goddamn talented at it that he didn't crumble until he got home, where Alphys probably had to deal with a whole floodgate opening of "Oh god, did that go okay? Did I mess anything up? Alphys I can't deal with this." That was beside the point for now, though.

Especially considering that Flowey's hand was taken once more, no hesitation this time around, and guided out.

Okay. This was going fine. Sans had the right idea, it seemed-- just pretend it wasn't a date, and things would be fine, right?

"Huh, yeah. Good point." Flowey gave a little nod, falling into a steady pace of keeping beside the other. This... wasn't so bad, now that they were actually moving. Or, maybe, he was just doing a really phenomenal job at keeping his attention away from the fact that this was technically the first legitimate date he'd ever had, and that it was the first one with his /soulmate./ That was something else entirely to think about. "So... do you know anywhere around here that's any good? I don't eat out that much at /all./ ...Are you taking us to that one hotdog stand again?"

Joking. /Joking/ was what would make this whole ordeal 30 different degrees of way easier. Why didn't he think of that sooner? To just treat the whole thing as lightheartedly as possible was his current goal at the moment.

Yeah, let's not concentrate on the fact that this was the first date of DESTINY and all that. That's a complete different set of pressure. Hmmmmm. Alright, where did he know--AHA! Perfect! "no, we're not going to that one hotdog stand again. it was better when i worked there, anyway." He snorted. "i know a much better place."

Okay, that 'much better place' was just Grillby's, but he hadn't actually brought anyone there - since most of the other people he knew either a) were content with just making ramen, or b) wanted him to try their horrible cooking instead. But he still ended up there enough for him to be one of the most frequent regulars - only accentuated by the minute he walked inside for there to be a small eruption of voices saying 'Hey, Sans!', 'Yo, Sans!', 'Sans!'

"heeeeey!" Sans responded, grinning, most of his nerves fading away, only to erupt once more when someone asked 'Oh, did ya get a boyfriend, Sans?' "...." Uh. Um. Was that a thing? Were they... ummmmm. "...well, what's it look like to you?" He eventually ended up trying to respond in the coolest way possible, causing a small bit of laughter.

"Sure it was." Flowey snickered, but didn't protest whatever idea Sans seemed to be brewing up. Once he they got there, though, the building he stopped at had some sort of familiarity to it. Grillby's? He was pretty sure he'd seen the building on trips out of his place before, and he'd probably heard Sans mention it a few times.

He must've at least said something about it once or twice, at least-- especially with how nearly everyone knew who he was. He must've been a regular around here.

At least this place had a pretty laid-back atmosphere. Even if the inevitable boyfriend question got sprung on him. Admittedly, he couldn't help but crack a nervous smile, shooting a glance Sans's way, just to see what he was going with. Vague answers? Alright, he could work with that. It wasn't as if they'd actually sorted out anything about that, anyways.

All laughter aside, he was pretty focused on getting a good lay-out of the bar, managing to get his way onto a barstool with a vaguely embarrassing amount of effort. Their arrival definitely had the bartender's attention, though, and with the glass he was cleaning put aside, he lifted his gaze to the familiar regular, pausing for a moment for speaking up.

"...Nice to see you today." He offered, more soft-spoken than Flowey had expected. Not a common tone of voice to find in a bar/restaurant like this, perhaps, but no one ever remarked on it too much at least. "What'll it be?"

"eeeey, grillbz. same as usual." Sans grinned, then glanced at Flowey. "oh, uh, anythin' you want in particular, buttercup?" Yeah, that was the affectionate nickname now. The affectionate nickname that the person Sans knew - who was sitting on the other side of him, had to smirk at, as Sans gave that person a look reading 'okay, don't point it out. He's cute when he's embarrassed, but not yet.' They just settled for giving him a knowing grin, which Sans responded to by rolling his eyes. Typical.

Sans had mentioned the place once or twice, mostly because Papyrus did have a few stories of having to drag Sans out of here when Sans had a particularly bad day. One of those times had ended with Sans leading everyone in a glorious chorus of the Cheers theme before he collapsed on a table and just started weeping, because drunk Sans is surprisingly hilarious even moreso than regular Sans.

So it was safe to say Sans knew everyone here pretty well. Enough for them to have given him amused expressions that said that they were totally going to rib him about this later. (Probably something about cute blondes being his type. And Sans couldn't exactly deny it, either.)

A nod was given, before a glance from the bartender was taken to Flowey, who'd been busy for the moment shooting a glare at Sans over the nickname, especially when someone else was smirking at it. He was just constantly out to embarrass him, wasn't he? The expectant look of the bartender eventually wound up with him embarrassing himself, though, the glare faltering heavy.

"...Fries? Fries would be good." He gave the answer, looking to Sans for some sort of affirmation on if that'd be a good idea. Grillby took the answer right away, though, slipping away from the counter and to the back. The bar was tame, thankfully, so it wasn't exactly a big deal by any degree for him to vanish for a moment.

"So, this is it, huh? For some reason I thought Grillby's was... smaller." He raised a brow, unable to keep a snicker off his lips. "It's a lot... busier. Than I thought it would be, too."

"eh. starts to seem small when you've come here as much as i have." And it was true. Sans had come here so much that some of the regulars were like surrogate weird family to him, from the half-blind Doggo who insisted he could see perfectly fine, thank you very much, to the weird constantly-sloshed 40-year old mom who stopped by sometimes. They were all okay in his book. And of course, Grillby was like the dad Sans had always wanted. He could talk to him about all his problems and he'd listen and he was there for him. It was nice.

Unfortunately, someone completely unfamiliar was around tonight. Some douche who looked roided out out of his mind, and was clearly drunk off his ass to boot. And he was looking all over the place, before finally settling on--....no. Oh, just his luck. Amazing. "Now what do we have here, huh? A cute blonde! Heya, babe. I'm...Aaron." Sans was already shooting daggers at Aaron as he wrapped a muscled arm around Flowey - who no doubt was disgusted by it. "You're attractive, and I'm single. I think those two things fit together pretty well."

Alright, now he HAD to speak up. "hey. asshole. he's with me. back the fuck off." Sans stated, a far darker smile on his face than usual. "because if you keep going like you're going right now...you are reaaaaally not going to like what happens next."

Aaron approached Sans, snorting down at him. "And I suppose you're his boyfriend, or something?"

Sans stared back without flinching in the least. "yep."

"I'm sure he could do better. Way better. Besides...I bed a new girl every morning, and a new guy every night. You can't compete with me." Aaron kept an an intimidating stare. "I'll have him kneeling in front of me, sucking my co--"

That was about when Sans reached up, and slammed a hard punch straight to his jaw, sending Aaron slamming into the ground. "i don't think ya heard me correctly, buddo. fuck. off." Aaron stared at him, mouth gaping for a few seconds, before he peeled himself off of the floor, staring at Sans darkly, almost in disbelief, before leaving. Sans heaved out a long sigh. "sorry 'bout that." He winked, hopping back onto his stool. "some assholes just can't learn when to stop."

"I bet. It sounds way smaller in the stories your brother's told me, too." A grin was shot his way, before he'd taken to looking around the bar. The crowd seemed nice enough, if not a little eccentric. Not to say the whole friend-group wasn't, of course.

One table in particular caught his eye, a group playing a card-game. There was one that seemed to whip his gaze at anything that moved a little too much, a big, soft looking guy, a smaller one who was strikingly similar in appearance, and a couple. One of the sorts that were always linked together at all times. It was... an oddly comforting sight, really. The whole group seemed so familiar and at ease with each other, it was ridiculous. Maybe that's why Sans ended up down here so often?

His train of thought was abruptly derailed and practically thrown off a cliff, though, when some drunken idiot made his presence known-- and, unfortunately, decided to settle his attention on him. Okay, whatever. He'd get hit-on, and as foul as that was, he could shoot him down, and that'd be that.

The muscled arm that'd wrapped around his shoulders had any rational thoughts melted into just a mortified, disgusted look, though, doing what he could to shrink away from the touch.

"Listen, I--" Before he could practically hiss out a response, though, Sans was speaking up, thankfully having that arm get off him. Thank god, he could literally feel the touch make his skin crawl.

He wasn't exactly fond of being defended when he could handle it, either, but it was... new. He didn't think he'd seen Sans get this aggressive over anything, really. Today was just full of new revelations about the guy, wasn't it?

For the time being, though, he missed the whole "boyfriend" thing. He was more caught up with looking as though this guy was the most disgusting creature he'd ever had to lay eyes on, and at the note of kneeling, the look of furious disbelief was blatantly obvious.

Before it went on too long, though, and Flowey would take it upon himself to what would've probably been fruitless shoves and a lot of horrible words, he was easily stunned into silence.

Like it was nothing, Sans had knocked the tower of a guy to the ground.

After a dirty look was exchanged between the two, Flowey sending a sneer his way for good measure, despite not having exactly been a part of that, but the minute Sans was back on the stool, his brows were lifted in obvious surprise, a moment of silence being exchanged before he couldn't help a smile that pulled at his lips.

"/Wow./ I never would've guessed you were a fighter." He smirked, before a glance back was taken, just to ensure that the guy was gone. Thankfully enough, he was nowhere to be seen. "...Augh, what's with people, though? If he would've kept going, I swear, I was going to snap his neck. Could'a probably gotten in close enough to do it."

With that morbid thought aside, though, he looked back to Sans, a fleeting moment of hesitation having his smile falter before he spoke back up. "...Thanks for getting rid of him, by the way. I owe you one."

Sans shrugged. "had to beat up a lot of assholes who wanted to hurt pap when he was younger." The scar over his left eye was enough to prove that - though he actually hadn't fought for a while, so it was surprising he still had the strength in him. "and hey, if he'd kept going, wouldn't have stopped ya." He snickered. There was a brief moment of silence, of hesitation, though Sans' usual smile had softened a bit. "...heh. no problem. i just....couldn't take that asshole saying things like that. i mean, i'm sure you probably could've handled it, but..."

He'd gotten especially furious because it was towards Flowey - he'd immediately tensed up when he'd gotten up and felt like nearly beating the guy to a pulp, but he'd held back and tried to convey that through his tone. Considering how fast the guy left afterwards, it was clear he got his point across. Still, that fact that he'd immediately gotten a coursing rage through him that felt all the more satisfying when he'd clocked the guy was a bit unusual for Sans.

Not that it was something that he would object to, if something like that ever happened again. He was more than capable of defending anyone he lo--cared about if anyone even thought of hurting them. It really hadn't hit him that he'd told the guy outright that Flowey was his boyfriend until a few seconds later, and even then, he was able to hide it fairly well, perhaps only because the rage was still dying down a bit, and when he was angry - hell, he didn't care, point was that slimy asshole needed to back the hell off especially off of someone he lo--liked so much.

If there was any unsureness to be seen with the whole situation, it was clearly wiped away now. Sans cared-- and cared a /lot,/ it seemed. Not just a begrudging "we're soulmates, so I'm gonna roll with this" sort of caring that Flowey might've been fearing. He didn't think he could be blamed for the concern, though. Trust just didn't come as easy with him now as it did when he was a kid.

To say that Sans was definitely earning that trust was an understatement in itself, though, and that was dawning on him slowly but surely.

"Still," He insisted, giving Sans a nudge with his elbow. "...I appreciate it." Before he could go on any further, though, Grillby cleared his throat, making his appearance known and sliding their orders across the bar counter. A scolding look with concern mixed in was tossed Sans's way, too, but there wasn't anything more than that before he moved down to the bar to handle someone who'd been flagging him down.

Only a few moments passed from there, before a new unfamiliar face had peered into the bar, lingering for a long few moments uneasily in the doorway. Before long, though, he'd made his way up, freezing before he reached out, the short guy tentatively speaking up as he gave a tap to Sans's shoulder, not looking any degree of comfortable with the situation. "...You the person that hit Aaron?"

It had only started as 'we're soulmates, so i'll roll with it' in the very beginning, honestly. It'd long since gone from 'heh, okay, he's alright' to 'yeah, one of my best friends' now to 'he's...he's really important to me, almost as much as my brother, though for different reasons, obviously.' Sans hadn't exactly opted for the feelings shift, especially when everyone was pushing it so much, but...it'd kinda happened, whether he liked it or not.

At this point, he definitely liked it, though. Before he could've made any more of a move (oh man the kiss is happening he can feel it almost happeni--) darnit, almost-dad, just had to appear at that time to give him a mild look of scolding and concern. Sans had merely grinned and shrugged - hey, that asshole had started it. Sorry, Grillbz. Had to defend the....boyfriend(?).

It wasn't before long that another unfamiliar face was seen, though. A short, nervous looking guy who'd asked him if he was the one who hit Aaron. "...yeah." Sans admitted. "...sorry. he'd, uh. kinda tried to make a move on my boyfriend." Let's just go with that terminology now until it was pointed out! And then completely fluster when it was pointed out!

Flowey's attention was now, too, on Woshua, who seemed even less thrilled that now he had /way/ more attention on him than necessary. At least he'd found the right person, though. He lifted his hands, giving Sans a dismissive gesture, fidgeting a little where he stood.

"I came to to say sorry for him. He's really bad when he drinks. Filthy, too." He frowned, looking displeased with the whole thing, before doing his best to manage a smile, albeit a sheepish one. "But I'm gonna take him home and make sure he doesn't bother anybody else. He likes to argue and then go pretend he's single. It's really gross, he needs to wash his soul. ...But. I'm really sorry again."

There was a moment of pause, before he glanced back to the door, looking as though he'd forgotten something-- or someone-- and getting antsy. "I should go before he finds someone else-- m' sorry again."

Flowey didn't speak up until Woshua was well out of earshot, glancing over to Sans and keeping his voice at a mumble. "You know... I don't feel bad for people that often, but /man,/ do I feel bad for that guy."

As the little guy had left, Sans shook his head. "you said it. poor guy." It'd totally killed the mood that had been building up, but whatever, he could totally go for that kiss later. Thank God he hadn't pointed out the fact that he'd now had that claim twice. Amazing. Sans was on a roll with avoiding being a blushing mess god knows how "ah well. i'm sure that'll work out, eventually." Hopefully. Poor thing looked like a wreck...hopefully that Aaron guy wasn't his soulmate, either, because...eeugh. Couldn't imagine putting up with that.

Anyway. Distracting himself from that, he dumped a load of ketchup onto his fries. Probably too much. He always tended to do that. He was just glad that his soulmate had been...well, it hadn't been perfect at first, what with the fighting that they had, but...now? He couldn't have asked for anything more.

Sans shouldn't be thanking anyone, oh, no. If it'd slipped past Flowey at all the first time, the second time, he'd /definitely/ noticed it. He'd been more preoccupied with hearing out what the fidgeting guy before them had to point it out, though, and for the moment, he was caught up with watching Sans pour... an obscene amount of ketchup on his fries. Honestly, at this point, the ketchup probably outweighed the fries in there. Were there even fries left? Had the ketchup absorbed them and converted them into more ketchup? There was just no way of telling.

"Sooo..." He trailed off, not even pouring any ketchup for himself, but borrowing some off of Sans's ketchup hellpile. Fighting a smirk off his face was getting harder and harder, and the semblance of one had to have been seen at the very least. "...Boyfriend, huh? That's new news to me. Gee, you'd think that'd be something I'd get let in on."

And now Sans was as red as the ketchup hellpile sitting in front of him, with an ashamed smile on his face to boot. "...uh. um. heh. i mean, uh." Nope. He was not getting let off the hook for this one. It'd come out of his mouth, he'd said it, there it was, there were the feelings. Dammit, Sans. "yeah, that...slipped out...." He was desperately trying not to appear lame but.

Oh dear, Sans has been turned into a quiet lump of blushing and desperately trying to think of an excuse if that wasn't the thing to say oh jeez even if his tone sounded amused and he hadn't exactly objected to it and the glance at his face he'd taken showed that he was more having an amused smirk than anything.

The stumbling mess of words he'd gotten in return had left Flowey a grinning mess, having to take everything in him to get back to any degree of composure. God, if he even tried to deny that Sans getting like this wasn't precious, though, he'd be an absolute liar. Perhaps it was something about such a cool, collected person getting flustered, or the fact that Flowey found something ridiculously hilarious about seeing people squirm.

Either way, he was probably having way more fun with this whole ordeal than he should be, but maybe that was his own special way of not winding up reacting the way Sans was over it.

He did manage to bite back some laughter, though, reaching over to give Sans the smallest of pushes, before he went back to fiddling with his food. "Hey, even if you sprang it up kind of suddenly... I /guess/ I don't mind it."

Despite the begrudging tone he'd feigned, though, a look over would clearly show that he didn't nearly mind it as much as he implied he was. His grin softened to a smile, and just to avoid falling into a flustered mess, he'd just focus on his food for right now. These fries were pretty interesting at the moment, anyhow. Just look at them. They're incredible. Good job, Grillby.

Sans had ended up blinking in surprise, especially when he looked over and his...his boyfriend had the most adorable, rare smile on his face. Oh jeez. Sans couldn't help but end up smiling. "...ya don't?" He replied, his voice sounding with a bit of cheerfulness and amusement. "then i guess that settles that, then. hehehehe." Sans couldn't help but punctuate that with a wink, despite the still visible blush on his face.

He couldn't help but be pretty thrilled it'd turned out this way, though, and though he knew everyone's response would probably be some variety of 'you mean you weren't already', whatever. It was just nice to feel it for himself, that he'd actually managed to not 100% screw things up and...he actually managed to get his soulmate to agree to be his boyfriend - in his own special way, of course. But they'd gotten used to those little facets in their personalities by now.

He leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, with a cheerful grin. That decision was sealed and official now, then. Awww.

So, that was that then, wasn't it? The differences between now and back when they'd first met were outrageous, and just now really hitting him. He'd started out absolutely hating this guy, and the only reason he even came around him was because Papyrus had been useful at the time. Time kept going on, though, and despite everything, here he was, a mess of affectionate feelings that would baffle him if he thought on them too long.

He wasn't complaining, though. Absolutely the opposite, he was having a great time with all of this.

"Alright, glad we got that cleared up." He was having a hard time wiping a smile off his face, especially when a kiss that was absolutely not accidental happened. There was a moment where it was Flowey's turn to get red in the face, despite him desperately trying to avoid getting flustered over it, though the nervousness that tinted his smile was inescapable. Jeez, keeping himself composed and having all this romance business in full swing was the most difficult thing he'd dealt with in a while.

"You're lame." He added, unable to get anything particularly witty out at the moment. Instead, he took to smirking and looking over to him, doing what he could not to look at the ketchup atrocity. It was an eyesore, but a really attention-grabbing one. Woshua would've probably had a heart attack at the sight. "I've got to ask, though. How long was I gonna have to wait to hear all this if some ripped freak didn't hit on me?"

Sans couldn't help but snicker a bit when his boyfriend's (he was going to have to get used to actually being able to call him that) face turned bright red. Cute. He was his cute. And he was ecstatic about that. Papyrus was probably even going to wonder how it went /that/ well when Sans got home, and Sans would be the one giving him a bone-crushing hug. Heehee.

He'd dug a french fry out from the ketchup mound and was eating it when that question was asked. "um...well. dunno. depended on if things went well or not. if they did, probably by the end of tonight. if they didn't, i'd probably have kept it bottled up for a while longer. but hey. things went better than expected after all. for me, at least. now you're stuck with me. hope ya realized what ya signed on for, buttercup." He snickered.

Yup, Flowey, you just signed on for Sans giving you kisses on the cheek whenever he feels like it, snuggling with you when you're upset, even though he'll still be...well, Sans. The same snarky joking nerd you've grown to love(?). There's not much of a downside other than the usual Sans being Sans at times and his sometimes blushing and stuttering when he's not used to certain romantic interactions yet but even those are probably a plus. Just adore the not-skele and he'll keep adoring you and all will be perfect.

So, if he'd admit to it (probably not), he hadn't actually foreseen that far into what exactly he signed up for. Minus some hand holding and the first intentional kiss given just a moment ago, that'd been the only affection that'd been given. There'd just been more flirting as of late, and that was about it. It wasn't going to be a realization he minded in particular-- except, maybe, the snuggling, only if it were more of an furious kind of upset Flowey was dealing with.

(In all actuality, though, enough cuddling could probably smother any outrage he might be caught up in. As much as he would defend against the point to his grave, he was turning out to be kind of a sap for the whole thing.)

"What, is there some kind of terms and conditions I need to look over before I sign up? Some kind of warning sheet?" A quirk of a brow was given his way, and a shift was made to lean against the bar's surface. Food /had/ sounded good there for a while, but now, he wasn't exactly hungry. He'd mostly ordered just for the sake of date-tradition, but he'd probably eat it later. "So, I guess we should probably figure out what movie we're gonna see. Weird to think we can finally escape the PG 13 area for once, huh?"

Hand-holding, kissing, snuggling, Sans will probably eventually try to make a move to get all around the bases when he gets up the nerve to which will take a long while, and the fact that Sans will probably eventually blurt out the fact that he loves him, which will probably stun them both until the possibility of an '...I love you too...' in which case Sans would immediately kiss him passionately....but that's in the future.

And hey, even if it were a furious kind of upset, Sans would probably be there to angry-rant to and then try to calm down with 'shhh shh it's okay babe, i'm here for ya' things like that and just gently holding him like. You're so lucky, Flowey, jeez. Sans is totally all over the cuddles too even if you never admit you like them so much.

"nah, most i've got for warnings is ya gotta put up with me most of the time. but hey, you've done a hell of a job with that already." Sans snickered. "and yeah, it's really weird. guess we should see something above that just to savor it, 'cause i /am/ kinda gettin' tired of seeing my bro's movies."

As of late, Papyrus had subjected him to a lot of Disney. A lot a lot of Disney. Sans didn't mind it at first, but when you've seen something 50 times...especially when Pap had insisted on watching Frozen. At least Sans had fallen asleep midway, though he woke up to Papyrus constantly singing 'Let It Go', which was a hell never experienced before that he hardly ever wanted to experience again. Ever.

Would Flowey ever admit his absolute fondness for what was probably a lot of upcoming cuddling? Probably not, if he could help it. Was he going to absolutely enjoy all the affection, though? Oh, /definitely./ Someone doesn't go through a pretty wide period of life without affection and any degree of an intimate connection with another person and /not/ get excited when it comes back. Even if he wasn't going to be good at it, he wasn't going to be complaining about it any time soon.

"Listen, okay, you guys always shoot down my horror movies, but tonight, we /should./ There's a really good one I saw a preview for the other day." Okay, sure, there might've been a little malice to that smile of his, but hey. He hadn't gotten to see any thrillers for a while, and he hadn't seen Sans's reactions to those, either, so he was pretty curious, as far as that went. He was right along there with Sans, though.

One too-late movie night had Flowey dozed off on the couch, waking up occasionally (with a hefty load of half-awake grumpiness in tow each time) to Papyrus gleefully singing along with whatever song was currently on. He hadn't seen anybody get into Disney movies as much as he did, but to each their own, he supposed. At least it gave him the important lesson of not staying over during Disney nights. That was some valuable wisdom.

Of course, Sans was used to a lot of affection, being, y'know, the brother of Papyrus, and Papyrus probably treats hugs as a sustaining lifeforce. The kisses were gonna be new though. He was probably gonna enjoy all of that quite a bit, so hey. (in worst case they will succeed asgore and toriel as #1 nose-nuzzle champions even without trying. gg boys.)

"heh, alright. fine. if that makes ya happy, buttercup, i'm alright with it." Sans was usually fine when it came to horror movies, the rare times he'd seen them, though he did get squeamish when it came to anything too too graphic - like the time Alphys had shown him 'Audition'. A horrible experience was had by Sans, though Alphys knew exactly what was coming in that movie, and....well. It wasn't pretty.

Yeah, Sans had grown to secretly really distaste Disney nights, except for the times they watched Tangled. Atlantis, and Treasure Planet. Try as he might, he could not hate those three in particular.

The agreement definitely has some sort of enthusiasm lit up in Flowey's face, without a doubt. See? This night was going to be great. It was already going well enough, but it was only going uphill from here.

Besides, horror movies were a great excuse for a whole slew of things in what would probably be a less-than-crowded theater. Jokes when the parts were far cheesier than they should've been? Of course. Jokes when you don't really want to look at the scene that's happening? Definitely. Not to mention the good ol' cliche affections that could be shared during dull parts of the movie. It was the perfect plan.

"Great. Here's to hoping it won't be another shitty one." It'd be a shame for the one above PG 13 movie for them to finally see to be bad, anyways. Not even intentionally bad, like Phiranaconda, or any other sci-fi atrocity that was so bad it was excellent. Theater films just didn't work that way. "You can handle scary movies, right? I figure I forgot to ask that. If we need something a liiiiittle more tame for you, I guess we can watch something else."

"pssssh. you think i can't?" Sans snorted. "i'm 100% capable of handling anything scary." Well, most of the time, at least. Even then, he usually didn't get more than a bit squeamish and was able to laugh it off. Besides, he wasn't about to back down on this. Nuh-uh. Sans Gaster is many things. Hilarious? Yes. Charming? Absolutely. A wuss? Of course not (except when it came to certain obvious things)! He is very strong and unafraid gosh diddly dammit even though he mostly just came off as tiny and adorable.

"but hey, if it turns out /you/ can't handle it...welp. i'll be there." He winked. Smooth as hell, Sans. Smoother than a fresh jar of skippy. Somehow you've gone from blushing mess to smooth as hell once you realized the affections were requited. Impressive, honestly.

"Really? You think /I/ can't handle it? C'mon. I thought you knew me better than that. I'm hurt, Sans." He mocked offense, though the words did get some kind of challenge brewing there. Okay, so, sure, he hadn't exactly watched a lot of the recent horror movies. As a kid, they'd always been more along the lines of something Chara enjoyed, and he just uneasily tagged along for, but he'd definitely developed some kind of fondness for them at this age.

He wasn't going to be giving into the second-guesses that he'd get spooked by it. No way, that wasn't him. He was strong, determined, and steel-nerved. He /had/ this. "Hey, though. The same goes for you if you're just putting on a tough-guy ruse here. I won't think too much of it if you wimp out, don't worry. It just happens sometimes."

Sans was not going to give into the thought that who knows, it could surprise him. Nah. Not very likely. "it's not an act. i'm plenty tough." Pff. So that was it, then? Whoever got spooked first - if that were the case - got to seek comfort with the other...hm. Challenge accepted, buttercup. <3

He hopped up, and took Flowey's hand. "we'll just see if either of us are faking in that case." Obviously, his tone showed that yes, the challenge was indeed accepted since there wasn't a downside...since he wasn't gonna lose. Hehehehe. Underestimating Sans is a bad idea. But hey. Time to get the whole thing started - so onwards to the movie theatre they went.

 


	11. Things Get Shitty (+ More Messed Up Familial Issues)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Water flows under the bridge   
> Let it pass, let it go   
> There's no good reason that you should believe me   
> Not yet, I know but... 
> 
> Someday and soon   
> I'll make you proud of your boy   
> Though I can't make myself taller   
> Or smarter or handsome or wise...
> 
> I'll do my best, what else can I do ?   
> Since I wasn't born perfect like Mom or you   
> Dad, I will try to   
> Try hard to make you   
> Proud of your boy'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the movie 'The Visit' in this chapter, by the by.

A smirk lit up his face, and the hand that had taken his own was squeezed back easily. It was something he was actually starting to get used to, and the small gesture was a comforting one. He could definitely get used to this, at the very least. (He could probably get used to everything that was coming, too, but that wasn't what he was getting at right now. Shhh.)

His fingers intertwined idly with the other hand, and despite the smug smile that was still tinged with excitement, he kept pace, dropping any conversation that might've been going on when the got to the theater. It'd been /ages/ since he'd gone out to see a movie, it felt like. The theater wasn't familiar in the least anymore, and a lot brighter than he remembered it. He could've probably looked around for another few minutes, too, but his attention was brought to actually getting the tickets, gesturing to the showing of The Visit that was coming up relatively soon. "I'm pret-ty sure it's that one. ...I didn't actually catch a name from the previews, so I hope it's that, anyways."

Sans was totally capable of getting used to this, too. Entirely. Definitely. Might also be because Sans was initiating most of it, but still. He was happy. And that was enough. Huh. 'The Visit'....wasn't that that new thing by the 'WHAT A TWIST' guy? ...Well, it'd be funny at the very least. So Sans got them both tickets to the next showing, and hey, at least it'd been out for a while, so there wasn't that many people when they got inside. Even better.

Sans always liked it when there wasn't that many people there - he remembered fondly one time he'd taken Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne to see one of those Japanese movies on a limited release, that, despite the cinema being hard to find, was entirely empty in that screening, except for them. So they'd talked throughout the whole thing without worrying about volume, put their feet up on the row in front of them, sat exactly in the middle - it was great. The movie itself had been kinda boring, but it was like making conversation in a much bigger living room that none of them owned. And they'd gotten popcorn and icees. Score. Good times, good times.

So there they were, sitting in the middle, Sans looking at the screen and not expecting anything spectacular....but hilarious at the very least. When it'd started...oh yeah. This was /stupid/. And he loved it. CRAZY OLD PEOPLE ARE HILARIOUS. That one sentence was pretty much the gist of it.

Well, the trailer and what he'd heard about the movie had been... not exactly spot-on about what it was. It was more of a comedy in the guise of a horror film than anything else. This wasn't exactly what he'd been hoping for, but he supposed it'd work for the time being.

For now, though, he had bigger thoughts on his mind-- the primary goal to be to /actually/ initiate some affection of his own for once. It was nice and all that Sans took so much initiative, sure, but Flowey wasn't some kind of goddamn blushing anime boy, regardless of what Alphys would crack jokes at. He may not be exactly the most romantically adept, but he /had/ this. It was all good.

There was a moment of waiting, a pause to seek out the perfect moment where Sans wasn't paying attention to him in the least, and it was time to give it a shot. He waited, before he lifted his arm, moving to slide it around Sans's shoulders.

But, there was no such luck. He really should've been looking his way, because once he got close enough, he'd aimed a little too low, and wound up just hitting him in the shoulder.

Nope. He fucked this up. Time for Plan B. Plan B being to merely slump up against him and make that blunder look intentional. Yep. He totally meant to do that. This was all according to plan.

Alphys would definitely assume that one of them was a blushing anime boy, and at this rate, it was not Sans who was fitting that role. Sorry, Flowey. You're tiny, cute, and have tsundere to spare. And you just messed up. Hmm. Sans was distracted from the movie by that attempt, and he just grinned, wrapping an arm around him. Sorry, Flowey. Ah well. 'Least you got the affection even if it was reversed, hehe.

So as the movie went onwards, it was obvious that it was a comedy, from the grandma being hilariously over-the-top and doing creepy walks while running around naked to the grandpa just being hilariously eerie. Sans could dig it, and he was snorting at a few parts. Though when the kids discovered a shed that the grandfather went in and out of periodically, he couldn't help but tilt his head a bit and star--were those adult diapers. The grandpa's adult diapers. Ewwwwww. Sans made a face that basically could be summed up with 'BLUH'.

Hopefully that wouldn't come up again. Ever. Ewww.

Ugh. Okay, so, at least it happened. He was still able to get cozy, sure, but not exactly in the way he'd been hoping for. He wouldn't complain about it, though. Especially not with the tensions in the movie starting to pick up further and further, before they finally snapped-- the old people were now, if at all possible, more horrifying than before (he might've been a little biased, though, since old people weirded him out as is), and were trying to off the children.

Then, one thing lead to another, and Flowey's face quickly went from content, to confused, then to disgust.

The grandfather was taking off his diaper. /Why/ was the grandfather taking off his diaper.

What came then was probably the most repulsive thing that he's seen-- or, would've seen, if it wasn't his gut reaction to turn away from it and hide his eyes /somewhere./ Nope. No way. He couldn't stomach something like that. It wasn't even a scared factor anymore, it was all for the sake of protecting the food he'd eaten.

By chance, too, from where he'd been leaning, Sans' chest happened to be in the ample place to turn into amidst some mumbling of "No, what the hell, no fucking way, that's not okay," a hand lifting to cover what of his face he hadn't been able to hide.

This movie was sick. The crew that worked on it should either be proud or ashamed. Maybe both.

Sans was staring at the screen with a confused expression, especially when the grandfather got up after taking a dump and--no. His face was slowly switching to realization. No. They woul--OH, GOD, THEY DID. He literally almost gagged at the sight, trying to look away and...oh hey. Maybe this was perfectly fine after all, and Sans was perfectly happy to just look away with an amused smirk and turn his attention to the fact that his boyfriend had buried his face into his chest. Heeheehee. Adorable. Who cares about the shitty (heh) movie when he had this?

Though it was obvious he was very comfortable with the arrangement. Sans had gladly been able to hold Flowey close until the scene was over. "it's over, if ya wanna look up now. though if ya don't...welp. i don't mind." Had to get that last little comment in there, didn't ya, Sans?

Judging by the brief silence on the screen, the scene was probably over-- though, for a moment, he didn't budge. No, he'd delay it just a little bit, this was comfortable as ever. If it hadn't been for the movie getting back to a tolerable point, he probably wouldn't have budged at all, but he at least managed to turn to face the screen a little better. The comment got a roll of his eyes easily, though, a glance being shot up his way from the corner of his eye.

"...Hm. Alright." Instead of the usual huff he'd get in, and shifting up in the chair, he'd take Sans up on that. Shifting from where he'd merely been keeping his gaze away from the screen, he wound up getting himself comfortable, settling his head just beneath the other's shoulder. "Yep. This is perfect, riiight here."

Sans didn't mind that in the least. "m'kay." Guess what time it is. It's hold your boyfriend close and snuggle with him time. Yes. Best time. Sans's favorite time of any time. The rest of the movie was a bit uneventful, luckily. No more shit was featured (thank god), and that was one thing Sans had to be grateful for. He was never going to be any better off from that shit scene. Eeeugh. Though now he was really comfortable and didn't wanna get up. Mnnn.

....He knew they had to, but he'd have been perfectly fine just staying snuggled there for a long while. He was pretty damn content and pretty damn pleased with himself that everything had gone so well. He'd gotten a lot of hand-holding, a lot of snuggles, and even an official boyfriend status.

This was a firm 9/10 on date standards. There was still that tenth for small improvement....buuuuut....

There wasn't any doubt that Flowey was more than glad that not a single other adult diaper made it into the scene. He could just settle for an unplanned cuddling session, zone out for the end of the movie, and be absolutely content with it. If he had the nerve for it, he probably would've taken the other's hands, too, but this was enough for him for the time being. He was just going to take what he got, and maybe try again for a more extensive cuddling moment of snuggling that wasn't bound to theater seats.

By the time the credits started rolling around, though, Flowey finally managed to sit up, stretching and letting out a breath in the process. "Well... I know what movie I'm /never/ going to be watching again, jeez. It wasn't that bad, but... the end. I can't do that again."

"yeeeeah, i'm...i don't have the stomach for that. dunno how i didn't look away entirely." Sans admitted, stretching and slowly getting up. Never. Again. He took Flowey's hand once more as they left - still, even if there was a few crappy moments, this had been probably the best date Sans had ever been on.

(Considering his last dates had been Tsunderplane smacking him with a book while claiming 'I-It's not like I l-like you or anything, i-idiot!', and then Toriel having to deal with....well, Flowey and him before they'd actually grown to care about each other, that wasnt' much of an achievement, but it meant something to him.)

As they approached Sans's house, Sans paused briefly as they were at the door. Alrighty, Sans, how to finish this? ....Huh. It'd be a risky move if it didn't pan out, but...

"...i think this went really well. i had fun." With that, he looked into his eyes, gently putting a hand on his cheek, and kissed him on the lips, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around him with a smile. After a small bit, he pulled away, albeit a bit reluctantly. "welp. see ya." He winked, keeping a cheerful grin, stepping inside, and closing the door.

Immediately, when he got inside, he slowly sunk down against the door, muttering a quiet 'holy crap, did i actually just do that?' as he lit up bright red.

The walk home was a nice one, albeit a quiet one. It wasn't a weighed silence, though. More content if anything, if you asked Flowey. Hands were liked together, and regardless of how well the whole thing went was baffling him, there wasn't part of him that was less than pleased with the whole thing. He didn't think he could ask for a better date, not even in the slightest. 

By the time they got to the house, admittedly, he'd been ready to call it a night. A goodbye was in store for such a well-done date though, wasn't it?

Right after Sans's own goodbye was given, though, there was a hand on the side of his face, and from there, lips met his own. The shock at first was evident, as much as he tried for it to not be.

Only a couple seconds in, though, the surprise crumpled into admittance, and admittance from there shifting to acceptance, and after that? The kiss was returned without much further wait, with some nerves on edge to boot. Could he be blamed for worrying about ruining their first /legitimate/ kiss, though? He hardly thought so.

When it was broken, though, it took a few moments for him to actually come to his senses. He was only able to crack a blatantly still-stunned smile, managing out a stumbling "bye" as Sans disappeared into his home.

From there, there was no time to waste. He went home without any further delay, only to promptly lay down in his bedroom and actually process the whole night. He may or may not have been grinning like an idiot the whole time, sure, and if he would've seen himself, he would've been in a huff over how easily Sans had any degree of collection to himself gone, but that was the furthest thing from his mind right now.

Inside the home, though, there wasn't any immediate notice to the door opening. Some conversation in the kitchen did slow to a stop, though. There was a tentative moment where there was no sound, before an unmistakable face finally made itself known, peering out before stepping out. A tentative smile and an uncomfortable movement of scars shifted on Gaster's face, and thin hands lifted to sign eagerly.

'There you are, I was wondering when you'd be coming home. How was your trip out? Papyrus has told me bits and pieces about it, I hope it all went well.'

Sans had just let out a content sigh with a lovestruck smile after he'd processed what he had done, though the sudden silence did stun him. Did Papyrus have company over? He didn't tell him about that. Usually if Papyrus was going to have someone over, he would've told him, just to check if it was alright. And it usually was, because Papyrus never had gotten in with the wrong crowd, thank god.

Soon, however, the reason for the silence had become apparent. A tall, skinny man who Sans knew all too well had tentatively stepped out of the kitchen. Sans slowly stood up, a bit stunned by the sudden arrival. "...dad? ...y-yeah, everything went really well. but i didn't expect to see you today..."

Papyrus darted out of the kitchen, running over and giving Sans a bone-crushing hug. "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? DAD SAID HE HAS SOME TIME OFF, SO HE'S STAYING WITH US FOR A WHILE!!! WOWIE! AREN'T YOU EXCITED, SANS?!" Somehow, Sans wasn't excited in the least, and the joy he was feeling from having been around someone he adored was being replaced with a numbness to being around the person who had completely abandoned him to begin with. Sans just kept the usual smile up and nodded.

"yeah, sure! that's great!"

"OH! I ALMOST FORGOT TO ASK! HOW WAS YOUR DATE WITH FLOWEY?"

"it, uh, it went really well." Sans smiled genuinely once more. "probably one of the best dates i've ever had, and...we're officially boyfriends now, so, hey. i'm really happy."

Papyrus hugged Sans even tighter, if that were possible. "REALLY?! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU, BROTHER!!! I TOLD DAD HOW YOU WERE ON A DATE WITH YOUR SOULMATE, AND THAT YOU'D BE BACK SOON, AND NOW YOU ARE! AND EVERYONE'S HAPPY! ESPECIALLY ME!" Sans couldn't help but laugh, even if the fact that his father was included in the equation was....strange, to say the least.

Sans had never really included his father mentally in anything, much less his normal home life. He almost expected to never see him again - it wasn't like he cared, did he? All the time, it was either an experiment that took priority, a theory, anything that made him seem more into the community of intellectuals he had shifted into - and Sans had always wanted to get his father's attention. He still felt guilty about trying in the first place.

Sans had spent many nights, alone, stuffed in his room with nothing but himself, textbooks, theories, anything that he could find that would make him more intelligent. Maybe then, he'd be important enough. Smart enough. But it never was. And even then, the time he'd actually lashed out at Papyrus for bothering him...he'd never forget it. The way Papyrus had shrunk away from Sans whenever he was studying. The way he'd kept to himself and been very quiet, a strange thing for him.

And that was why Sans couldn't concentrate on studying anymore. He had hurt the only friend he originally had, the closest person to him - his dear baby brother. So he'd spent years trying to make it up to him, and Papyrus' spirit had returned in time, but he'd always felt like he'd...he'd ruined everything then. That was why he had to concentrate on his brother making the most of himself.

Because he, himself, had failed. He wasn't worth it. He'd never be worth the attention. Not when he was diagnosed with depression. Not when Papyrus had latched onto the idea that their father was a genius, amazing, better than anyone else. Not when Sans had left and taken Papyrus with him without much exchange. And now his father was back, and suddenly decided that now was the time to start paying attention.

Somehow, the thought made him feel numb.

The tall, lanky presence in the room seemed to be thrilled enough with the good reactions. No part of the eldest Gaster was even vaguely aware of the turmoil on the other side of the room-- it wasn't as though he'd ever been aware of it, though. No, he was far too scatterbrained, not observant enough for things like that. As far as he saw, he'd rejoined his temporarily shattered family, even if for a little while.

Despite all things, though, and the incredible lengths of his studies, the shattering was something he couldn't piece together to this day.

At the point when he'd gotten caught up in his work had probably been the start of it, if he could think back that far. The absence of a mother figure had driven the man out of a familial mindset and into something more hellbent on scientific breakthrough. There could've been a slew of reasons for that, too, none that he could recall: prospering the Gaster family name for his children's benefits in their futures, denial of loss, maybe some oddly placed bitterness with the home he rarely returned to.

Either way, one thing led to another, and before he entirely had time to register it, his children had vanished without a trace.

Though, if he had to place a thought on it, perhaps it was for the better, despite only falling deeper into his work after their disappearance not being his most responsible choice. They seemed to be doing well enough for themselves these days.

'It's been far too long,' The sentiment was given with an apologetic smile, though only a difference in tone shifted from his usual one. 'I'm looking forward to spending time with you two once more. Papyrus has many good ideas for what we can do. Of course, that's all if you have the time to spend, son. I do not want to impede on your daily routines at all, not with this visit being so out of the blue. I understand if you are preoccupied.'

Sans had tried to collect himself as Papyrus put him down. Well...he'd be able to do this, right? For Papyrus. Papyrus had nodded happily, yes, he did indeed have many good ideas for them to do! And...Sans couldn't let Papyrus down. Not again. He could only hope the numbness would leave him after a while - no matter how angry he'd likely feel when it did. "um, nah, i don't have much. maybe a few jobs here and there." Enough to keep him distracted at times. "and...yeah, sounds great!"

Sans was able to channel the happiness he'd previously felt - just think about what'd happened not too long ago, Sans. Don't worry about what's right in front of you. That was enough to get a happy smile out of him, and Papyrus seemed to buy it, at least. "THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!" Papyrus cheered, glancing between his older brother and his father. "IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!"

"yeah, sure will be....hey, bro, dad? it fine if i go rest now? it's...it's been a day." Sans yawned.

"YEAH, SURE! WE UNDERSTAND, SANS! BUT DON'T SLEEP TOO LONG INTO THE MORNING!" Papyrus joked, and Sans shook his head.

"i make no promises." Sans shrugged with a grin, and went up the stairs, walking into his room, and closing the door, before collapsing onto his bed. First everything was fantastic, amazing, he was going to have a great time, he had someone he adored, he actually kissed him and he could've sworn there were sparks...and now there was this. This that took all that happiness and pushed it into a corner. Sans rolled over onto one side, and tried to ignore it.

It was possible to ignore it, wasn't it? ...Just think of being happy and not having that constant feeling of not being good enough. He sighed, taking out his phone, and flipping through the pictures before he'd found the one he'd taken the first time he'd found out his soulmate and sent to Alphys.

The sight of it made him smile.

And then he tried to sleep, letting out a yawn. His dreams were an empty mesh of nothingness.


	12. The One Where There's Really Good Sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Watching his world slip through my fist...'
> 
> 'Playing with him in your fantasies...'
> 
> 'Haven’t you heard the word – how I want you?
> 
> O, I’m gonna be wounded  
> O, I’m gonna be your wound  
> O, I’m gonna bruise you  
> O, you’re gonna be my bruise...'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's smut in this chapter, if the summary didn't make it obvious.  
> There's also emotional shit, but it should be obvious where the line is between smut and emotional shit.

The week that followed the news of the arrival of Sans's father was a... quiet one. That was something Flowey noticed almost immediately.

During the weeks, it wasn't as though he was often able to visit the brothers, anyhow. But, part of him had been hoping to exchange some texts during his absence, now that he'd had his number. Texts were sent often, though, whenever he got a chance, and surprisingly enough, answers seldom came. They always seemed half-hearted, too, at that.

Flowey hadn't managed to feel worried over anyone in a long time. Not his parents, not any "friends," not a soul had gained his concern. But, despite him never outright saying it, he was practically worried sick about what was going on.

He deemed it, at worst, maybe a bad work week for the other, though. It'd happened before. There'd been movie nights where he just wasn't chatty, and he'd accepted the reasoning of stress, or shoddy customers during a shift. These things happened, and he wasn't going to press on about this.

When Papyrus messaged him about his brother being missing in action, though, without a single word said, /that's/ when he started to panic. Hardly a few minutes after he'd gotten the message passed before he was coat clad, hurrying out of the door and shooting a text back, struggling to stave away anxious knots that warred in his stomach.

'Oh.  
I bet he's on his way over here.  
I'll go meet him half way, okay?  
Don't worry about it too much, I'll let you know when I meet up with him.'

Once the last text was shot out, though, the phone was shoved away, and he mulled over his options. He didn't exactly have anyone's numbers to text and ask them... he probably should've gotten those numbers sooner, but that was beside the point. The only place he could think of to ask for any info was Grillby's-- he was a regular there, so they were bound to know something, right? The bartender seemed to be close enough with him, anyways, so he'd be the best one to ask.

Once he'd closed the bar's door behind him to keep the cold from escaping in, though, he couldn't tell if the sight before him was lucky or not.

Sans was there, not looking any degree of okay, much to the silent dismay of Grillby. The ginger man was leaned against the bar, no longer idly cleaning anything, even looking like he was occasionally speaking up, which was more than he ever did. His attention was caught by Flowey, though, who didn't waste another beat with making his way to the bar, reaching over to give Sans's shoulder the smallest shake.

"Sans. Hey. ...What're you doing here at this hour?" His brows were crumpled in concern, a moment of thought passing before he shifted himself up onto the barstool next to the other's. "Papyrus said you didn't say anything when you left, either. He's worried."

That wasn't to mention that, damn, was /he/ worried, but that was a point for later.

Sans had drank himself into a stupor. It was hell, that past week had been. He'd kept faking a smile over and over and over and seeing Papyrus admire that asshole, that man who just suddenly strode in and decided 'now's the time to be a dad!' He couldn't help hating it. Every second of it. But he had to be okay. He had to seem okay, he had to. Always okay, always fine, always smiling, keep your cool, Sans, you don't need to worry because you're not....you're not suffering so far as anyone knows.

He'd eventually just broken that night and gone to go vent his worries to Grillby, though one shot had turned into several until he was drunk off his gourd and Grillby had long since cut him off for fear of his own safety. Sans had claimed he could take it, but no. Not happening tonight. Sans had just collapsed onto himself, releasing a long-bottled up sigh and venting about how he just didn't feel worthy of...of anything. He had just had all the respect, all the admiration taken away and replaced with 'LOOK HOW COOL OUR FATHER IS, SANS!'

Eventually he'd just ended up crying until he heard a familiar voice. Oh. He immediately picked himself up. No, he couldn't be seen like this. No. He forced a smile, though it was, admittedly, looking a lot more forced than he usually intended for it to be. "flowey! hey, i, um....i...papyrus has been busy so i didn't wanna bug 'im. he's had a lot to do that doesn't involve me. so i'm fine. i'm just relaxing. y'know. all that shtuff." He couldn't help slurring that last word, at least - even if it was obvious he was drunk. He couldn't let anyone know, not even....no, he couldn't trouble them with his self-centered bullshit. No.

The slur in his voice, along with the blatantly forced smile, was something that clearly knocked Flowey further and further into worry. Oh, no. Nope. He was absolutely not looking any kind of relaxed. He'd seen Sans distressed about things, but it'd never been this bad before. Had he ever seen Sans drink himself into an upset-looking stupor before? ...No, not that he could think of.

"...Sans. No one here... is going to think any less of you, for what you're going through." Grillby added offhandedly, thick brows crumpling in worry. A hand lifting to push his sliding glasses back up.

Grillby's words didn't do anything to explain just what was going on, though, leaving Flowey feeling as though he were further and further in the dark. A hand found it's way to Sans' shoulder tentatively, as if gauging if it would be okay, pursing his lips for a moment before he could manage out what would even be a remotely good start to figuring out what the hell was happening here.

"Papyrus doesn't... ever do things that don't involve you. That doesn't sound right." Flowey let out a breath, giving where his hand was lightly settled a pat. He wasn't sure what he could ask that wouldn't be overstepping his bounds, and frankly? He had no idea what to expect. He hadn't ever seen Sans even remotely intoxicated before, much less smashed entirely. "...You don't exactly look like you're relaxing, either."

"....'m....'m fine..." Sans couldn't help but look away, his voice shaking a bit and that forced smile fading into a frown just as quickly as it had come. "...no one needs to worry 'bout me." He was clearly breaking, though. "'s just shitty problems that show whata self-centered jackash i am." Sans never had a high opinion of himself, and when problems weighed down on him, it only got worse. And when he couldn't hide it that well due to being - y'know, drunk - it was far more obvious that Sans never truly did have a healthy mindset when it came to these things.

"i don't want ya to...to worry..." He muttered, looking back up at Flowey. He could handle it on his own (he couldn't). He'd be fine (not really). If people told him he mattered, that'd help (him remember what a self-centered egocentric piece of shit he was, trying to act cool all the time when he'd failed at literally all of his life). It would all be okay (he doubted it).

Flowey could practically feel his heart sink when the foreign trembling in his voice made itself present, a breath escaping through his nose. His options weren't exactly looking... plentiful right now. Not at all. He wasn't going to leave Sans, that was one that was ruled on the moment it even remotely dared to cross his mind. Taking him back to his home wasn't something that was going to work out, either-- if he'd fled from the house to get wasted, the problem was probably /there./

He'd figure something out, when he didn't have other things he needed to sort out.

"...Hah. Well... I mean. Guess you should'a realized what you signed up for, huh? I'm gonna worry however much I please, and there's nothing you can do about it." He cracked a smile, one that only lasted a few moments, before the hand on his shoulder dropped, his arm moving to fold across the bar. "...You know that you're not /actually/ a self-centered jackass, though, right? I've met some self-centered jackasses, and... you aren't even close to being like them. You're a good guy."

If Sans were in a more lighthearted mood, perhaps he would've smiled at that. But he wasn't. He was in one of the worst moods he'd had in a long while. "...yes i am. i don't...i don't show it, but i am. just fucking look at me, i've got a nothing future, i built all my hopes up on papyrus to do something great when i sure as fuck couldn't, papyrus just tosses me to the curb ash soon as dad shows up again, and i...you shouldn't be wasting your time with me. you shouldn't. 'm a complete joke." He was dragging him down, wasn't he? He was. "everyone knows it. you knew it from the start, even, don't know how the hell ya forgot that...even called me that before. the minute that someone i hate shows up, i run away like a complete wussh. 's pathetic."

Sans let out a long sigh, and after he'd realized that no, Flowey was not going to leave him, he sniffled a bit, hugging him. "shit. 'm shorry..."

Flowey was knocked into silence as Sans went on, brows crumpling and whatever confidence he had tried to keep in his posture for Sans's sake faltered. Especially at the part where he "shouldn't be wasting his time" with him. He /had/ called him a joke before, he could vaguely recall it, during their first meeting. Back when he still despised him with nearly every fiber of his being. It'd nearly slipped his mind, seeing as he'd said a lot of really horrible things back then.

He returned the hug, though, keeping him close for a long few moments before letting him go slowly. He hadn't even let him go entirely, at that. He'd merely let him go enough to lift a hand to his face, brushing his thumb over his cheek idly. This was... weird. He hadn't ever had to give reassurance before, or comfort, for that matter. He hadn't exactly felt the need to until now, either.

"...Nobody tossed you to the curb. Nobody's going to, either, alright?" A struggle was made to offer him a reassuring smile, though he could only manage a weak one. "It's more like... when a kid makes a new friend, you know? It's really exciting for a little while, because it's out of the usual, but. It doesn't last for long, trust me. ...You've got a future, too. I don't know what it is, because, you know. I can't see the future or anything, but... It'll be... something. All that you can do is try to figure it out when the time comes, I guess."

It wasn't as though Flowey didn't mean all of it, but despite the reassurances, they didn't feel /right./ Did he word them wrong? Maybe they wouldn't go over right? He had no idea. It was looking like he was pretty awful at this whole comfort thing.

It was enough. Sans was still sniffling a bit - it was probably true: Papyrus loved having his dad around, but it was something neither of the brothers were used to. Not something Sans wanted to get used to, either. It had gone 'well', those few outings had. His father pretended to be interested in their lives, Papyrus basically told him everything, and Sans just smiled and nodded while hoping it'd end soon. He'd only lost it after Papyrus had said something like 'THIS IS THE BEST TIME I'VE EVER HAD! WITH BOTH OF YOU!'

....Had the fact that he, Sans, had taken care of him all those years meant nothing?

They'd had plenty of 'best times', before. The time Papyrus learned how to ride a bike, the time they'd gone to Disney World, the time Papyrus had first made spaghetti for him and he'd faked that it was good and he was so thrilled about it that he hugged him tightly, plus the time they'd compared how tall he was to how short he was when he was younger and they'd both laughed because now Papyrus was the 'big' brother. ...yet a stupid picnic with their dear old dad who valued being a respected member of the scientific community over being a good father was his 'best time'.

He'd kept it calm until later and he'd thought Papyrus wouldn't have noticed, but clearly he did....and all things considered, he probably knew where he was. He just probably thought he was angry at him. He'd have to apologize later, he would, but...

"...yer probly right..." Sans muttered, letting out a small sigh. "'m just..worrying about nothing...which is what always happens." His voice still shook a bit. "....still surprised yer still here after i even told you why you shouldn't be, though...why?"

"I don't think it's... nothing. You probably have a pretty good reason to be like this, but. I'm just saying that it'll pass." He murmured, his smile falling at the next question. That was one hell of a question, with one hell of an answer that came along with it. He had more reasons than he could go on about, if he'd ever actually go on about a solid half of them at all. Would Sans actually remember any of this? It didn't seem likely. The guy was plastered beyond the point of no return, it seemed.

A pause was taken, before he sighed, glancing away for a moment before looking back to him. Couldn't leave him without an answer, could he?

"...I don't know, I mean. It's not really that surprising? I..." A careful moment of word choice, before he went on again. "Care about you. A lot. Probably a ridiculous amount. We should... probably get you out of here soon, though. Are you okay to walk?"

With no hesitation whatsoever, Sans ended up having the smallest smile at that response. "love you too, buttercup." He tried to get up, stumbling a bit. "'m...'m fine...i think. closhe enough." 'Close enough' meaning 'yeah, you might have to support me a bit.' "i don'...i don' want papyrus to shee me like thish, though." He admitted, letting out a small sigh. "...'m gonna have to 'pologize to him tomorrow."

Sans would probably apologize and feel like crap all over again, though not enough to run away. He couldn't. As much as he wanted to in the face of that whole situation...he couldn't. At least, he admitted to himself, he had two people he loved enough to help him through it.

The stumbling delayed some racing thoughts on Sans's words, getting up and tucking an arm under Sans's own, taking one last glance back to Grillby. He'd gotten a nod of approval from the barkeep, before he took to carefully guiding his drunken mess of a boyfriend out of the building, pausing for a long moment, until he opted to turn the opposite direction from the Gaster family home. It was his best bet just to bring him back to his apartment though, wasn't it?

"We'll go see him tomorrow, okay?" He gave a little rub to his back, the realization of what he'd said to him. Yep. Okay. He hadn't misheard that, right? No, that was one of the few things he /hadn't/ slurred. He did have to remind himself though that it was probably just drunken affections, though. Something they'd laugh about tomorrow. As much as he tried to not get caught up on it, it was proving to be easier said than done.

The walk didn't take nearly as long as he thought it would, and that much, he was incredibly thankful for. It felt like it was going to take ages, with a stumbling mess being steadied by his own wiry frame. Soon enough, though, he was pushing his apartment door open, letting Sans go once he'd (hopefully) steadied him enough to shed off his coat and shoes.

His apartment wasn't exactly anything interesting to look at, despite what his firmness on keeping people out of it might say. Clothes were scattered here and there, as well as old mail, and it wasn't exactly full of furniture, either. Just a couch, a coffee table, and a television he'd had for ages being the most noteworthy things. Along with a few potted plants that seemed to be doing very well. Gardening was a thing that, probably thanks to Asgore, he found some degree of comfort in.

"Alright, so..." He trailed off, running a hand through his own hair, pulling his lips into a thin line as he thought. "You can take... my bed. I'll take the couch. I sleep here half the time, anyways."

Sans's own mind was kind of a big blur, though he knew he'd left Grillby's - he wasn't going home -- ....wait, wait. Was this? Oh. /Oh./ His drunken mind had inevitably misinterpreted the idea. Impressively enough, he did not have the dumbfounded gaping idiot stare his sober self would've had to thinking of that idea. Good idea not going back to his place, though, Sans couldn't imagine the potential loudness disturbing Papyrus...

So there they were. Huh. The place seemed surprisingly empty compared to what Sans had expected from all that secrecy. Weird. Still....hell was he going on about, 'I'll take the couch', can't play coy now, buttercup. But fine, okay, they'd play the coy game. Sans's face immediately lit up with a smirk, wrapping his arms around his partner. "what, ya sure ya wouldn't rather join me?" And there was the wink, coupled with Sans licking his lips. "...i wouldn't mind, y'know..."

Bless Sans little drunken heart, jesus christ.

Fortunately (or, unfortunately, depending on who's perspective you were looking at), Flowey was left in the dark as far as /anything/ of that variety went. He was just going to get Sans back to his apartment, drop him off to sleep somewhere, and he'd probably be out like a light within a few minutes.

Apparently, though, Sans had other ideas, and that started dawning on him when he caught the wink.

At first, though, he couldn't help but snicker, his brows lifting. Without a doubt, he couldn't help but look amused with the whole thing. "Oh my god. You're kidding me, right?"

When it showed that he clearly wasn't, though, his smirk faded slightly, more surprise coming to his face instead. ...Nope. Sans wasn't messing with him. He wasn't exactly sure how to take that, either. A laugh escaped him, more nervous than anything else, and his hands lifted to his face. "...Holy shit. You're /really/ drunk, aren't you?"

Sans kept the smirk that had crossed his face. "yup, 'm...pretty sloshed....but hey. doesn't mean i'm any lessh capable from givin' ya a good time." He slowly moved his hand down, and....yep, Flowey, that is a hand on your butt. "a /really/ good time." If sober! Sans heard how he was acting while he was drunk, he would've been more red than a stop sign. But drunk! Sans? Drunk Sans was all about this.

"ya already said you're in love with me, so...hey, 'm all over seeing how much i can prove to ya i feel the same...." Dear lord, Sans.

Welp. Okay. Alright. That was definitely a hand on his butt. To make up for sober Sans's disappearance, Flowey's face was as red as it could probably get, though one thing was certain. Morning Sans was /absolutely/ going to hear about this. Probably in excruciating detail, with the exception of that he /may/ have been melting into it, much to his embarrassment.

What could he say? It wasn't exactly an idea he was opposed to, as embarrassed as he was to admit it.

"Wow, did I say that?" He rolled his eyes, his smirk falling to something a little more wary. It took an genuine moment of thought for him to buckle entirely, despite the nagging in the back of his mind. He did exactly have anything to lose with all this, did he? "...You sure?"

"very shure." Sans responded, and feeling the other melt into his touch - welp. Yep, there is either something in Sans's pocket, or he was pretty damn happy to see that. "i'll take that ash a yes from you, though..." Sober Sans would not have been remotely prepared for this, obviously. Drunk Sans was already leading his partner to the bed and obviously ready to do anything and everything, by the way he'd immediately slid his usual jacket and t-shirt off before taking the other into a deep kiss, even if his own lips mostly tasted like beer.

Go, drunk Sans. You can do it! You can do the dew!

Flowey wasn't even remotely about to protest, though the fact that Sans was really obviously already in the swing of things was something else in itself. Just a glance down had made that much very clear. He didn't have time to think on it too long, though, before he was taken into a deep kiss, only tensing for a fleeting second until he fell into the kiss. Sure, it wasn't exactly the greatest thing he could imagine, seeing as most of what he was tasting was just booze, but that was something he last thing on his mind at the moment.

Instead, a hand lifted to comb through his hair as the kiss was fully meshed into, a tentative moment passing before he let his eyes slip closed. This... wasn't so bad at all. Would he have the nerve to get it rolling again at a far more sober moment? Absolutely not. That didn't mean he wasn't going to enjoy what he could for now, though.

Sans was definitely going to enjoy what he could for now - hopefully he'd remember at least some of this in the morning. If he couldn't he'd probably be absolutely regretful that he couldn't remember /anything/ about their first time other than being drunk as fuck. Though he was also secretly grateful that no, this was not the first time he'd done the do - a brief experience with Tsunderplane had been - so he was far less nervous than he would've been if that were not the case.

Then again, this was the first time he'd done the do with another guy (not to mention said guy being his SOULMATE), so go figure....even if, yeah, okay, earlier that week he had let Papyrus and his father leave to do some sort of activity while he'd locked his own bedroom door and done some 'research' on the subject in the hopes of getting some stress out. It did kind of work, at least at the time, though he'd never ever ever admit the fact that he'd ruined a perfectly good sock over mentally replacing a few good features on the face of a blonde in a video who was drooling and groaning from 'taking it in'. Nor would he admit in his life that he'd ended up groaning out his name when he came. Those were two very embarrassing things that he'd never fully admit.

Though now the actual thing was happening, he could only hope he wouldn't fuck it up - that was his most coherent thought - don't fuck it up, Sans. And no, rare sober thought, he wouldn't fuck it up if he could help it! And hopefully he could help it.

He was starting to pull the other's shirt off, pressing against him as he puffed out a heated breath, his eyes starting to glaze over a bit with lust when he opened them once more.

Flowey, much to his own embarrassment, wasn't even remotely as versed in the whole ordeal as Sans was. Being a generally terrible person and avoiding romance like the plague didn't exactly do wonders to get someone laid. If he wanted to deepen the embarrassment further, though, there was the point that an obscene amount of alone time /did/ leave him pretty damn familiarized with his own body. As well as a preference leaning towards men as-is leaving him with interesting material to think back on.

Except, no, he wouldn't do that. He'd just roll with this.

It wouldn't be that hard to figure out, right? No, he had this.

With the shirt coming off, he reluctantly parted from the kiss, a pent-up breath escaping him as he shifted out of the touch only to lift the shirt up and off. Once it was off, though, he wound up stuck on Sans's gaze, something in his gut feeling as though it did a flip out of some kind of nervous excitement. A burst of what was probably in-the-moment confidence had him shifting once he'd gotten himself together, though, pressing back into the previous deep kiss, a smile absentmindedly making it's way to the corners of his lips.

Oh, yep, he was no longer the only one initiating all of this - and that thought alone kicked in with a bit of excitement, gladly sinking back into the previous deep kiss with his own smile, holding the other close and already being a bit hard as he couldn't help but grind a bit against the other, a low groan escaping him. Oh, man, he wanted this, he wanted this a lot, he wanted him...and if that wasn't obvious from the now heavy making out it'd escalated into, it sure was by the fact that Sans had a hand on the other's hips, hissing out another lust-filled pant before he had his tongue in his boyfriend's mouth, the smile shifting into a sly smirk.

Really was a good thing that this had woken him up quite a bit, even if tomorrow, his sober self mused, he'd probably live to regret at least parts of this. Ah well. No worries about now, though.

Keep going like this, and....you're gonna have a good time. (For now. Bad time would be tomorrow.)

Oh-- wow, yep, this was escalating way faster than he thought it would be. First, they were shirtless, then there was grinding, just the touch and the sound that escaped the other combined leaving Flowey letting a curse under his breath, instinctively pressing back into the motion. It was almost a little odd, being the only member of this whole ordeal that was definitely going to remember this tomorrow. With that in mind, though, he didn't exactly have an excuse for diving into this without thinking about the consequences.

Yep. Tomorrow there'd be regret, even if he didn't see it or even consider it yet. But, for now, there wasn't an ounce to be seen.

Lips were parted almost immediately for the other, even if he didn't waste any time with invoking some tongue-based wrestling, a shuddering breath escaping through his nose. His hands weren't exactly content with being idle, either: one make it's way into the back of his boyfriends hair and tangling softly there, and the other merely opted to have his arm around Sans's shoulders, fingers trailing over the bare skin.

Of the few times that he'd mused over the possibility of something like this happening, he never thought it would've been /this/ great, even if it'd only just started.

Sans would probably end up remembering bits and pieces - but no, not the whole thing, much to his dismay. Ah well. Not like it wouldn't happen again later sometime whenever the sober version of Sans managed to get up the nerve to do so. Which...would take a while, but it'd happen eventually. Eventually.

He was letting out a few heated breaths from his nose while their tongues intertwined, biting at the other's lip, his eyes still glazed over - perhaps even moreso - whenever he opened them. He shuddered a bit from the touching, though he idly began to fiddle with the other's belt, keeping the smirk firmly placed onto his face. Second base is near. Third base is soon.

Despite the kiss being a /phenomenal/ way to keep Flowey's attention scattered all over the place, only so long of drunken belt-fumbling was tolerated before a breath of a laugh escaped him. He pulled back slowly from the kiss, his breaths more erratic than they had been going into it, before his hands moved from there they were, giving Sans' hands a pat to swat them away. Might as well get it over with, and get the job done correctly, right?

One thing made itself very clear, though-- Sans' drunken confidence was definitely easy to build up his own off of. Sober Sans was probably could to be an entirely different story, but that was something he'd worry about later. For now, the belt was undone, and his hands were lifted back to Sans's shoulders, a smirk of his own being offered the other's way this time around.

Okay, both of them being relatively confident and into this was definitely something Sans could get into, especially the fact that that smirk had caused him to stiffen just a bit more. Yep, okay, it was at this point that Sans' few sober thoughts had wound up of the '...welp, looks like i am probably pretty damn gay, at least for /that./' And that realization had been a long time in waiting, but apparently it becomes a lot more strikingly obvious when you're about to have sex with your boyfriend. Who knew.

But oh well, he was a lot better at sliding off his own pants, and--jeez, yeah, he was still a bit nervous even intermixed with the drunken confidence. Partially because there was still that lingering thought of IT'S THE FIRST TIME, partially because oh man he was not much to look at in the first place yet hi here we are sans jr has taken a huge liking to you and hopefully you're okay with that even though you're cute and handsome and confident and could do /so much better/.

It was almost shocking, how well this was all going. Or, for that matter, how well /he/ was doing with all this. Entirely sober, first time actually being intimate like this, and he hadn't faltered yet, even with being mostly stripped down by this point. That wasn't even to mention that it was hitting him that this was the most anyone's ever seen him, or the most vulnerable point anyone had gotten him-- the moment to get rid of his pants had almost been a breath of realization for him.

Nope. He wasn't going to let some little worries like that get to him now, though. Everything was going to be fine. He was sure of it.

Instead of letting himself mull over any nervous thoughts (or let Sans, if the look on his face was anything to go off of), the kiss was reignited. Not nearly as deep as the previous one, instead his focus more on trailing his hands down Sans's sides than anything else for the time being. He couldn't exactly tell what he looked like, considering that they didn't exactly turn on a light when they'd made their way in here, but he felt... soft. Definitely soft. It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least, even if that's all he could figure out for the moment.

This was definitely going far better than Sans would've expected their first time to be going - if he'd had to guess before tonight, he probably would've assumed it would've been them both fumbling around like idiots until something entered someone's whatever-orifice and somehow it got better from there. Instead this...this was nice. This was very nice. He returned the kiss - yes, it wasn't nearly as deep as the last, but the hands trailing down his side and the lips meeting his own were enough to push away most of his worries.

They were going to do this and it was going to be great and he wasn't going to remember anything except a few bits and pieces in the morning. Fantastic.

Sans wasn't exactly typically used to being this intimate either, but he sure as hell was into it, even if part of his brain had sobered up enough to question him if he really wanted to go the full 9 yards on this, did he /really/ trus--...eh, rhetorical question, of course. He was surprised that his boyfriend trusted him enough with this, though - a pleasant surprise...looks like he really did care. Heh.

Welp. He'd promised to prove how much he cared, too, so hey. He was leaning into the touch, his eyes closed with a smile on his face.

....And then a sobering thought hit him before it drifted once more back into the sea of drunken mess that still somehow existed.

One of them was going to have to experience a bit of pain, weren't they? ...Not it. Hahaha.

Okay, so Sans didn't look worried about much anymore, so that was a good step in the right direction. Everything was great. Some part of him nagged at the back of his mind, reminding him that Sans was too far gone to remember too much of this, which was a little disappointing. Nope. Oh, it'd be even more fun (all sarcastic emphasis on that) when Sans woke up tomorrow, and then he'd have to /explain/ what of it Sans couldn't recall.

A part of him was trying to piece together just how far this would go, anyways. It was all happening pretty goddamn quickly, far faster than he ever would've thought it would-- or really even had time to process, actually.

At least the fast pace hadn't given him time to fumble around and look like an idiot. Now, /that/, he was absolutely thankful for.

For now, though, he was more focused on keeping this going, and /not/ winding up slipping up and sending the whole thing crashing. Still a pretty prominent thing he was concerned about. He was content with just deepening the kiss for the time being, though, maybe even lowering a hand to settle on Sans' hip. (Admittedly, there was almost a little surprise that there weren't pants there anymore, too, seeing as he'd been a little preoccupied with the removal of his own to pay much attention, but that didn't matter too much at the moment.)

Sans was not going to let himself slip up and crash either, despite how obviously easy that was going to become, especially when he realized that underwear was going to be the next thing to go, and then they'd really be into it. At least it wasn't going to be like his real first time with Tsunderplane, where he'd tried to take her bra off, got slapped in the face and called a 'freaky pervert' before she immediately took it off herself and smiled. Man, she was weird.

But still, this was going to be a moment of vulnerability, and at least the deep kiss that he sank into was distracting him from taking too much thought into it. He had his own hand on the other's hip and at this point it was kind of a question as to who was going to act first...but all things considered, probably Sans would not too long from now, because Sans was still the one barreling on drunken confidence that he'd never have had otherwise.

See, thankfully enough, Flowey didn't have any stories along those lines to add on. Sure, that did come with an unfortunate lack of /actual/ dating knowledge that wasn't just winging it and hoping for the best, but. Things had gone fine so far, haven't they? Hey, he hasn't gotten smacked in the face for trying to take someone's bra off, either, so hat least he's got a step-up going for him from where Sans was at.

The mess with Tsunderplane aside, though, he had bigger things to focus on. Like trying to get up the nerve to actually remove the final article of clothing. Alright. He could do this. He /had/ this. Or, did he wait until his own were off? Was there an order for this kind of thing?

Christ. Maybe he was a little too sober for this.

The hand that'd moved to Sans's hip abandoned the mission briefly, instead going to trail his fingertips over his lower stomach instead. Yep. It wasn't like a hand on his own hip left much room for him to get his arm down there and weasel Sans' underwear off, anyways. Feeling him up absently seemed to be the best idea for the moment.

Alright, looks like he was going to be the one to initiate this. Welp. No problem there, probably. Sans swallowed his nerves - alrighty, you can do this, Sans. Just slide 'em off, no nerves. So that he did, not without facing his nerves directly though. Shit. Just wait until they actually got to pleasuring each other, that was going to be a whole new barrel of nerves....that'd probably wear off once he was stimulated enough, as he'd found out before. Really horny Sans lacks fear.

But still as for now, bright red and slightly nervous Sans. Welp. His own were next, weren't they? Yup. Shit. This was going to be embarrassing, though at least he could be relieved that he was at least average size compared to other guys - not too big, but not too small, it'd be a hell of a lot more humiliating if he wasn't...

Only a few moments passed, some movement happened, and there they were, no more clothes in the equation. Appearances weren't exactly something that Flowey fretted over, but in a position like this? Well, it was nowhere near close to what Sans dealt with, but some self conscious thoughts definitely made themselves present. He'd retained more of a lanky, wiry frame that he'd had all his life, though he never grew into the height that actually made that look good in his opinion. Despite the "powerful," menacing appearance he liked to take on, too, there weren't any muscles to be seen, all soft features and a paleness from not getting out /nearly/ enough.

If compared to Aaron, he'd probably make the guy look like a goddamn tank of a human.

Thankfully enough, though, they were both in the average area, leaving Flowey with one less thing to worry about. Instead, he'd just focus on hazy eye contact, a moment of hesitation passing before a hand moved down, brushing along Sans' stomach as it moved. He could do this. He'd just... carefully grab it, and give him a few slow strokes. It was a slow start, but at least it was a start at all, right?

Oh. That was. That was a hand on his. Oh. Oh jeez. Even now, Sans was probably the darkest shade of red he could be, though that didn't stop him from letting out a very small surprised 'mmn--'

Shit, this was happening. This was happening and there was no stopping it happening now. Especially not when he was definitely leaning into that touch and if it kept going like that he couldn't help but barely have his lower half very subtly thrust forward, biting on his lip.

Wow. Okay. That wasn't so hard (even if other things clearly were). His gaze lingered on Sans' face, though, just ensuring that he was actually doing this right. He seemed to be... enjoying it enough, at least. Come on, Flowey. Don't pansy out of this. It's easy.

Swallowing some nervousness that'd tried to form a lump in his throat, he picked up the pace the slightest bit. The look on his face didn't do anything to settle him down, though, not at all. Even if he was still wildly nervous over the whole ordeal, he'd be a liar if he even remotely tried to deny that just Sans' reactions alone weren't fuel enough to keep going.

"f-fuck..." Sans muttered, the curse rising up from his throat as he was now almost completely hard, thrusting forward a bit on instinct once more. "..nnn..." His tongue slowly escaped his mouth with an aroused, hot breath, a smirk slowly gaining across his face as he licked his lips. "...mmmm...."

He stepped back just the slightest bit before it became apparent what he was going to do when he knelt on the floor and started licking the other's cock before taking it into his mouth and beginning to suck on it with a pleasant hum. /Damn/. Drunk Sans was a lot more confident than sober Sans, especially at this rate.

Wow, that smirk was. Holy shit. That was something else. It definitely had something in his stomach doing a flip, a shameful one at that. Before he knew it, though, Sans was stepping back for some reason or another. He would've probably panicked, had it not been for the fact that the look he was getting didn't show anything along the lines of him doing something wrong.

Nope, instead, surprise set into his face, before a shiver that shot up his spine had it melted away. Where Sans was getting that burst of confidence from, he had no idea-- but he sure wasn't complaining, either.

"Oh my god.." A shaking breath escaped with his words, a hand moving to comb through his hair. He was almost having a hard time keeping himself upright at this point, and there wasn't exactly anything to steady himself on besides Sans himself. He did what he could to keep steady, though, unable to bite back a groan that he'd desperately tried to bite back, along with a few other light hums that escaped with his breaths.

Sans bobbed his head up and down on the member, taking it all into his mouth and breathing out heated breaths through his nose. "mmmm..." In all of his life, Sans had never expected to be in the position of giving someone else a blowjob, but there he was, and he didn't mind it in the least. He glanced up, and the minute he heard that groan--shit, that definitely made him...yep, he was now fully hard and ready for action.

Though now it was his mission to get his partner fully hard before he...shit, he wanted to fuuuuck, he wanted to fuck him, he wanted to fuck him so much, and his face was practically tinged with arousal.

Of all the things Flowey had expected, even with as unexpected as the lead-up to this moment was, this had been the /last/ thing he could've even fathomed happening. Yet, here he was, being blown by his incredibly drunken boyfriend in his mostly-dark room. Just the kissing had him embarrassed and half-mast, but this? God, he probably couldn't get any harder.

Unfortunately for himself, or more for the mission of saving face that had fallen apart, he wasn't any degree of composed anymore. Little hums and puffs of air escaped him here and there, a shade of red remaining ever-present on his face, and his eyes not budging from where they'd fallen to a half-lidded point. He hadn't expected to fall into the swing of things like this at all, yet look at him now, god damn. He'd even managed to fall out of being so nervous, even if for the moment.

That confidence lasted until a breathy curse escaped with Sans' name, of course. Jeez. Where did /that/ come from?

Sans instinctively shuddered at the sound of 'Fuck, Sans...' god. Damn. He'd slowly slid his lips off of the cock, rising up behind the other and pressing his hard dick to the other's backside, holding him close with it brushing against the entry. "i hope that's an invitation, buttercup..." He breathed out in a low tone, barely keeping himself from acting on his urges already.

"ya gotta admit you want me first, though....hehehe..." That was definitely the more sober - yet still horny as hell - side of Sans talking, as evidenced by the teasing. "'m waitin', babe." He couldn't help but tease a bit, though - it was in his nature, of course. Wouldn't be Sans without it.

A shudder rocked up Flowey's spine, and with that split second, there was a moment to recollect himself. Before he had much of a chance to get himself together, though, Sans was behind him, dick pressed up against him and sending chills through him. God, that tone on it's own was enough to have him buckle any doubt about the whole ordeal, even if it was coupled with that nickname he'd hated so much before.

What could he say? It was growing on him.

The teasing had a roll of his eyes given Sans' way right away, though, opening his mouth to answer. He fell silent as realization hit him like a brick, though.

/God./ What was he doing? He'd experimented with a little toy here and there in his free time. He knew full and well EXACTLY what it was like the time he'd forgotten to use any sort of lube. It might've been one of the worst experiences he'd ever been through. (Besides, if there's one thing during the trip to the amusement park and the miserably long explanations Flowey had to deal with from Mettaton, that was one point he couldn't stress enough. If he forgot and, somehow, Mettaton found out, he probably wouldn't hear the end of it.)

"Oh, I do," He started, but before that could be taken as a sort of affirmation, he tossed a glance back to Sans, gesturing over to drawers beside his messy bed. "But, it's not happening dry. Not even a little bit. We're fixing this before we do. Alright?"

Yeah, Sans had been completely oblivious to the idea that they were going to need lubrication, a bit caught up in the moment, and not used to the idea of 'yep this is going to involve a dick going up an ass' in the slightest, and now he realized. Oh. Right. Yeah. That was happening. That was...that was indeed happening. "oh. right. yeah. good idea." He couldn't have imagined how painful that would've been without...yeah. So it was a good thing the more sober of the two was capable of realizing that fact, because Sans sure as hell wouldn't have been.

Alright, lube, lube, lube...open drawer and--yeah, there it was, alrighty. Success, it was not going to be half as hellish as it was without it! Now to apply it...

Once the initial unease of just standing around naked finally set in, Flowey was definitely regretting not getting this going sooner. It wasn't like it could be avoided, though. He wasn't about to endure a long day of suffering tomorrow over a mistake like that. (Even though he was going to be, still, but not nearly as bad.)

If there was anything Flowey wasn't, though, it was patient. Rifling through the drawer seemed to have been a process enough on it's own, and at this point, if he were honest, the whole situation had left even a moment of lost contact being more of a bother than it would've any other time. He'd manage for the time being, though, albeit begrudging with his waiting, shifting where he stood.

There was a point, though, where the fumbling over there left him more curious than anything, a brow raised. "...Did you get it?"

"yup." Hey, it's your own fault for leaving it up to your drunk-as-a-skunk boyfriend. He was now popping the cap open, putting it on, and.....yeah. Back to business, spreading that a bit apart and putting it on and a snicker as he kissed him on the neck. "what, getting...gettin' impatient? 's kay."

As soon as that lubing up was taken care of--alrighty. "m'kay...'s still gonna kinda hurt...." He held him close. "three, two...one..." Aaaand carefully going inside with a groan. Fuck, yep, that was tight. That was tight.

Nope, he wasn't even going to dignify the suspicion of his own impatience an answer, merely an eye-roll and a glance back. The kiss to the neck was nice, though, and thankfully, it did wonders to ease whatever tenseness there was.

Looks like the time had finally come, though. Here it was. It was happening. There were a few realizations that hit him all at once, as well: the first one, fuck, Sans was right. It still hurt, and the hiss that escaped him was a good indicator of that. (Thank god he remembered the lube, though-- he couldn't imagine how bad it'd hurt without it.) The second one was that, of all the ways he'd predicted he'd have a first go at all this, he never figured it'd be anything like this.

Besides the initial pain that he knew would be there, though, he wasn't exactly complaining. And, even despite the fact that it was hell for the what felt like ages (it was only a couple minutes, probably, but it was the longest couple minutes of his life), things slowly but surely felt like they were easing up. Not too quickly, it was a process, but-- it felt like it was getting there, at least.

Alright. They were now...welp. It was official, then. The real part of the sex had started. Okay. It was slow at first, a gentle easing in and out until they both got used to it, the tightness still eliciting a groan from Sans (coupled with a "...nngh, fuck...")....but it was a gradual speed up, very gradually the thrusts inside sped up, his mouth silenced by pressing onto the other's neck and kissing onto it and by all accounts there was going to be a hickey there tomorrow and Sans was going to grin about that despite Flowey's likely annoyance.

But it was gradually feeling better and better and Sans was definitely getting into it, a hand trailing down close to the other's cock as he continued to thrust inside, another small groan escaping - but it was definitely a more pleasured one this time.

The first few sounds to escape Flowey weren't the most comfortable-sounding ones, but as things kept the steady pace, his own sounds turning less pained and more pleasured-- as well as more frequent. The fact that there'd be a hickey on his neck tomorrow was far from his mind, the most frustrating matter being that Sans had a way to muffle himself, and all Flowey had to work with was the shambles of self control that were slipping away from any degree of restraint.

Any hopes he'd had of quieting himself down were gone when an exploring hand got closer to his dick, though it never quite /got/ there. There wasn't even any more embarrassment to be found, either-- he was desperate for some contact, and even if he'd be ridiculously embarrassed about it later, he wasn't above his own hand traveling down and giving the other one a nudge in the right direction. Just a little tap in the right direction would be all he offered for right now, and he'd just sort of. Hope for the best, he supposed.

Sans couldn't help but snicker - hehehe, buttercup was making all sorts of noises that totally kept him going. Cute. But yes, Sans at least had a way to muffle himself, otherwise he'd probably have been just as constant with the noise. He wasn't, luckily, but if he wasn't muffled, there definitely would've been more than the few muffled groans that there already were.

Feeling that hand nudge his in the right direction, that only intensified the smirk on Sans's face, as he moved his own hand to stroke the other's cock as he continued thrusting inside him - hmmm...alright, deeper, then. Gonna hit that prostate before the end of tonight...that'd feel /really/ good if the things he'd briefly looked up that one day meant anything.

Even if at the moment he was building himself up with a bright red face and a cock that was already leaking precum. Shit. This /had/ to happen more often....even if it was very likely that Sans would never have the courage to initiate it while sober until around at least the 3rd or 4th time.

Oh-- yep, that's what he needed, right there. A pleasant shudder rocked up his spine, and now that Sans had gotten the hint, he could lift his hand to ghost over his mouth, hopefully blocking out /some/ of the sound. Even just a little bit would be great, at this point.

So far, though, this was /great./ He might've been a mess at the moment, sure, but he was pretty sure that was the telltale sign of one hell of a first go. With every passing second, though, it felt like more and more heat was pooling into his lower stomach, only leaving him more uncoordinated than before. If that was possible.

That was a notion he could definitely agree with, though-- this /had/ to happen again. Even if he'd probably have to be the one to kickstart the whole thing. This had given some experience his way, though, so maybe it wouldn't be so hard? ...No. It'd probably still be as embarrassing and complicated as hell, and he'd probably wind up stumbling all over himself.

Future events weren't exactly considered right now, though, or even given time to be-- especially not with a certain angle, maybe he'd just gotten deep enough in there, but Sans got /something/ right with that one. A few murmured curses slipped out of his mouth, and his mind almost felt like it slipped into an overstimulated haze.  
"H-- holy shit, Sans."

He wanted to give out some kind of encouragement, maybe point out that /that/ was what he needed, but his voice failed him. Damn. It was hard times.

Sans definitely seemed to get the hint with that murmuring and his name being said. That was good? Yep. That was good. Oh yeah, that was definitely good. He kept up the stroking and thrusting in - that exact spot, yeaaahhh, definitely had to get more of that, and he could feel it building up inside him, only accelerated further with the noises that were being made, and the fact that everything felt good, /so good/ right now.

It wasn't long before he knew what was going to happen. Oh. Shit. "f-fuck, 'm gonna....'m g-gonna cum..." He groaned out. It was remarkable that this had gone so well, considering his previous sexual experience had ended with Tsunderplane just /plane/ giving up, calling him an idiot, and going home. So he hadn't had his hopes set high for any future activities, but now....oh yeah. More of this? He was never going to be against more of this, even if it would be terrifying to try to initiate again.

Then again, they both clearly wouldn't mind in the least, so go figure. Maybe not.

Oh, god, he was almost overwhelmed at this point-- Sans seemed to either catch the hint, or maybe angled himself the right way, who cared, all that he was concerned about was that he was getting it, and it was /wonderful./ He could feel the peak of it all getting closer and closer, just within arm's reach, yet too far away at the same time.

Just in time, too, it seemed like Sans was right there with him. Coherent words of agreement weren't particularly a thing right now, though, so hopefully a shaky hum would make due for the moment.

Frankly, when the end came, it didn't hit him expectedly at all-- it was more of a sucker punch than anything else, one that left him restraining a sound that still came out as a groan through his teeth, tensing and letting out a rapid-fire string of curses and murmurs that he simply couldn't stop. Being quiet in this sort of situation wasn't his strong suit-- even if Sans didn't seem to even remotely mind it.

Right now, though, his mind wasn't exactly on any of that, nor the mess he was going to have to amend here in a moment. He was still riding out the best climax he ever had, and damn it, he wasn't going to let any intruding thoughts ruin that right now.

When it fully hit him, it wasn't a surprise, but /damn/, did it feel good. He loved it, every second and his mind was kind of incoherent at the moment but he couldn't help the fact that it was literally the best feeling he'd felt in a long time, if ever. Sans was just letting the feeling fully wash over him, and even after it'd seemed to end, at least he was sober enough at this point to definitely remember this.

Everything felt sticky now, but...ah well. Definitely worth it, and his mind wasn't remotely focused enough to think much on anything right now outside of the realm of 'holy shit, that felt great' and 'how the hell did i not mess up horribly during this? usually drunk and first time is not a success. weird.'

Still, he'd gently pulled out, a tired, yet content smile on his face. He wouldn't remember all of this, to be certain, but the parts he did remember? Fantastic. Absolutely so. He'd gently kissed the other at the end of it all, and despite his thoughts being a complete mess, he'd managed to get out two sentences.

"god, that was great.... i love you."

The kiss definitely helped Flowey regain himself, even if just a little bit. A content smile of his own didn't fade from his face once, oddly enough-- he was feeling /great,/ he didn't think Sans would make a jab about him smiling after all that. Not now, at least. Tomorrow was a whole different story, but he wouldn't think on that for too long.

For now, he had more prominent things to pay attention to. Like the fact that the first "love you" just got exchanged. There'd been words of appreciation here and there, sure, but nothing along those lines.

"I love you too." He murmured, stealing another peck before letting out a shaky breath. As great as he was still feeling, the stickiness was something that needed to go, despite the grogginess that was trying to set into his body. He wasn't going to go to bed a mess, absolutely not.

A moment was taken to press a kiss to the other's forehead, mumbling a quick 'be right back' before he was off into his tiny bathroom, not taking the time to review himself in the mirror and notice that dark hickey on his neck. Nope, that'd be a revelation for tomorrow. For tonight, he'd just towel himself off, try to get himself together, and make his way back to his bed, the small space winding up having to have the two pretty close together. Twin beds weren't really conducive to having personal space.

Not that he was complaining about that at all, though. Exhaustion be damned, cuddling sounded better than anything else right now, and he didn't waste any time with getting himself settled in as close as he could.

Sans had just slid on his boxers again - eh, he'd take a shower when he got home tomorrow, that'd fix everything - and snuggled up into the small bed. He'd gotten an 'I love you too', kissing, the best sex he'd ever had, and now he was getting nice cuddles despite his exhaustion. Ahh...yep, usually he didn't consider himself a sucker for affection, but all of this? All of this was nice. Well, beyond nice, actually. It was something he wanted to keep around forever.

Especially since he couldn't keep a small content, yet tired smile off of his face, gently snuggling with his boyfriend and putting an arm around him as - yes, hello, your pillow tonight is probably going to be Sans's chest. It's still nice and soft tho and there's a small relaxing heartbeat sound so it's probably better than a normal pillow actually.

This night had easily turned itself around from the worst night of his life to one of the best. Heh. His eyes were already shutting, his mind having come to a standstill, but...nothing much mattered anymore other than the fact that he was happy.


	13. Seeing Double

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The frightened prince  
> Doesn't know what to do!  
> Will the ghosts go away?"
> 
> "No -"
> 
> "Will he will them to stay? "
> 
>  
> 
> "No -"
> 
> "Either way, there's no way to win!"

It hadn't taken very long to fall asleep, what with Flowey being nice and comfortable with a human pillow. There wasn't much delay before a blanket was pulled into the mix, since being boxer-clad didn't leave for much warmth, even if Sans himself was wildly warm. He'd never noticed that before, but he sure wasn't complaining about it. What mattered right now is that the night had made much more of a turn around than he could've ever expected to, Sans was looking considerably better than he'd been before, and... well, he didn't think he'd ever been this comfortable in a long while.

The morning was an entirely different story, though.

There hadn't been a single part of him that wanted to budge when enough light filtering in through his blinds tried to jar him awake. Bleary eyes finally opened when his sleep-daze started recalling the last night, though-- as well as him actually registering that he was partially laying on another person in his bed.

The shock had him shift a bit, only enough to take a look up, before everything sank back in. He'd gone and gotten Sans from Grillby's, and from there-- oh. That's right. All that /did/ happen. It wasn't just some dream that he'd have to deal with the internal shame of having all day and hope he forgot it.

Well. As much as the back of his mind insisted for him to get up and go do something, he wasn't going to be doing any of that. How often was he going to have an opportunity to just laze around like this? He wasn't sure, considering the lead-up to this had been Sans being tanked, and he wasn't about to miss his chance to get cozy. Even if, maybe, it involved pretending to settle back in and go back to sleep.

God, Sans was ruining him. Just look at him. He'd turned into a cuddle-loving sap. He'd have to figure out just how he did that later on.

Sans was never exactly a morning person. He was usually happy in the morning,but it was more accurate that he'd be happy...just fall asleep again. Repeatedly. And never admit that he would. He did open one eye as he woke up the next morning, a bit of a surprise obvious on his face when he realized what had happened and - oh. That was /not/ a dream last night. Welp. He was 100% okay with that revelation.

He smiled gently, closing his eye again, the feeling of his boyfriend being snuggled up to him being enough to keep him there for a good while. It was comfortable, dammi--OW. Ouch. Okay. There was the hangover. Goddammit. Ignore it, Sans. Cuddling more than makes up for it.

He didn't once shift from where he was, taking his sweet time with it. After a while, though, and admittedly dozing back off, he knew he /had/ to get up-- he needed to visit his mother later for tea, and with Toriel, there was just no escaping those things.

That didn't stop him from taking his sweet time with it, though. Especially not with stretching out, freezing and tensing up when one /hell/ of a pain shot up his back, a soreness he hadn't even remotely expected now making itself known. Great. Wonderful. That's just what he needed. (Still didn't regret the previous night, though.)

"Mn, morning."

Sans opened an eye once more - having admittedly dozed off again for a bit as well, though that wasn't surprising considering...well, Sans being Sans. He yawned a bit. "mornin' ~" At least it'd taken away some of the hangover pain, even though a bit was still there.

There was still that ever-present realization of 'oh. That stuff had happened.' He couldn't remember exactly /how/ it happened, something about him being drunk, all he remembered was that Flowey took him to his home from Grillby's, and somehow it'd ended with them having pretty damn good sex. Not bad, all considered. Sans didn't have much to do that day, himself, though he knew it was probably going to end up with Papyrus dragging him off for some sort of 'fun'. Wonderful. Ah well. He had a lingering good mood that'd be able to keep him through anything, thanks to yesterday.

There was a little movement, just enough of a shift for Flowey to be able to look at Sans' face, only moving his head off his chest. His arm still remained draped over him, and probably would until they decided they needed to get up and be productive members of society.

"Your hair's awful right now." He remarked offhandedly, lifting a hand to comb his fingers through the mess, having to stifle a yawn before he could go on any further. Christ, he was /exhausted./ More so than anything had left him in a while. Apparently, getting laid wasn't conducive to getting actually restful sleep. Even if the sleep itself was probably the most comfortable rest he'd ever had. "...So. Hangover, huh? How's that going for you?"

Productive members of society. Yep. That's never gonna happen. More like they just finally realize they can't stay there forever and finally make an effort to move. That'd take a bit. But it'd happen. Eventually.

"yeah, i know." Sans couldn't help but smile a bit. Did Sans have the sex hair? Probably. Wouldn't be surprising. Admittedly, Sans was still pretty damn tired too, but hey, that was nothing new to him. At least this was pleasantly tired as compared to a bad shift at one of his many jobs or a particularly energetic day with Papyrus. "...hangover's not as bad as i expected, surprisingly. still kinda hurts though....but 've felt worse." He had most definitely felt worse. And everything else was making up for it, anyway.

He could most definitely get used to waking up to this.

Shhhh. Keep the dream alive. Productive members of society. Sort of. They'd get out of bed eventually, at least. That was a step in the right direction, wasn't it?

One thing was certain, though. The hint of a sleep-hazed Sans smile was proving to be the Achilles' heel for this new, sappy side he had a love-hate relationship that was gaining more and more every time it made itself present. He'd have to try to figure out what was up with that later.

"Wow, I was expecting you to be going through post-booze hell. You were /gone/ last night." He snickered, propping his head up with his free arm. The snicker fell to something a little more curious, though, his brows lifting. "...Speaking of that. Uh. ...How much do you even remember?"

The dream of productivity died when Sans was introduced to the concept of being lazy. Though yes, that was a bit of a step in the right direction. Whenever it happened.

Sans himself was happy with the new sappiness, having long since accepted himself as a true and complete sap when it came to the matters of his romantic affections. So whatever, as long as they never really turned into the couple that made others sick by being overly-affectionate around everyone else, it was fine (and they never would, Sans knew that much, thank god).

"ehh...most of what happened. i think. not much before we got here. after, though...yeah, still pretty vivid." Probably because even drunk Sans would not let his sober self forget much of that, no way. He was going to remember that and he was going to be happy that he remembered it.

No, fortunately enough for both of them, Flowey wouldn't ever stand for becoming one of those couples. Even if he was slowly turning into more and more of a sap as time went on. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he was quite ready to achieve the peak of the romantic affection that he had the occasional thoughts of in /private./

It was probably a matter of time thing, as far as that went, but he'd wait and see.

"...Well. Less I have to tell you about, then." He gave a shrug, lying back down once his arm started aching from the held-up position. (It helped to hide the faintest of smiles, too, but that was a grossly embarrassing little note that he didn't care to bring attention to.) "You aren't really missing anything. We talked a little bit at Grillby's, came here, and. You know from there."

It was most definitely a matter of time, no doubt about that, most likely, depending on what that peak exactly was. Sans probably wouldn't mind in the slightest no matter what, though. He was perfectly happy being cute and affectionate when there wasn't public around, and even then, he was the first to start the holding-hands thing, so hey. Whatever works.

Sans couldn't help but keep a cheerful smile. "mm, kay, remembered all the important stuff the--" And that's when he noticed it. "--pffff. whoops. ya might not wanna look in the mirror, by the way. sorry~" Hahahaha, Sans had totally forgotten that he'd left a mark on the other, so to speak. And he couldn't help but be amused at it.

The peak of their romantic endeavors was debatable, really. What could both of them handle without getting nervous or embarrassed? How far would things fall into the cute, affectionate category before it turned into what was probably just joking and cuddling? Did that count as a romantic bit in itself? Flowey just wasn't sure.

Any semblance of a smile fell off the blond's face at the notion of not looking in a mirror, though, and a shift was made fairly quickly to sit up on his elbows and give Sans a confused look. "...What are you talking about? What'd you do?"

An answer didn't come nearly fast enough for his tastes, though, leaving a huff escaping him, and a quick (albeit a little achey, god, he was sore) trip to the bathroom, a hand immediately darting up to the side of his neck. God /damn/ it, Sans. There wasn't even any semblance of a debate as to what that was-- the red and purple mixed mark even had what could be vaguely made out as the marks of teeth, for fuck's sake.

A step out of the bathroom on the other side of the room had a stern, frustrated look shot Sans' way, but that quickly crumpled to something more akin to a pout than anything else. "Ugh, really? I can't hide this. Mom's gonna give me hell about it. How long do these even last?"

Yeah, Sans wasn't quite sure either, but hey, at least he'd probably be comfortable with damn near anything. They're both saps, bless their little sappy hearts.

But anyway, Sans was snickering at the reaction, a grin on his face as he sat up. "about a week, i think...oh well, not that bad, is it? ....hehehehehe." It was very visible, but hey. Some part of Sans kind of /wanted/ it to be, juuuust for it to be obvious that yes the angry cutie is taken by him. Hehehehe.

Tori probably was going to end up making them both feel the embarrassment, though, considering she was just as likely to text Sans later with something akin to 'Sans, if I didn't trust you as much as I do, you would be dead right now. Very very dead. You are both mature adults, but you're going a bit fast...and now that you've done that, I do hope you plan to stay with him for a long long while. Though I have no doubt you do....and, well, you're clearly both quite happy with each other, so...just make sure to remember that.

And try not to leave those marks too often, however amusing it was to see.'

Flowey near-immediately went to protest about how, yes, it is, and he should feel bad for it, but some filthy awful part of him decided to make a note about how it was kind of neat to look at. Not to mention the whole 'taken' implications it had, despite him not even beginning to have any worries about that before.

"Still." He huffed, moving back over to the bed and taking a seat, a wince escaping him that showed the immediate regret of that decision before he flopped back on the bed. "We're never going to hear the end of it, though. You know that, right?"

Not much of his grumbling went by before he'd shifted back over, finding the slim space between Sans and the wall to wedge himself into, turning onto his side. Finally, a good position for easy eye-contact, this was what he was looking for. That didn't stop him from being up in a huff, though. Or at least looking the faintest hint annoyed, but it could be argued that he looked like that pretty often, anyhow.

"I'm gonna be getting you back for it eventually. Don't know when, but it'll happen."

"yeah, i know. and hey, go ahead. i don't have many weak spots anymore anyway. hehehe." He winked. The last time Sans was 'gotten back' for those pranks, it'd ended up with his hair becoming the blue that Sans continued to dye it to this day, perhaps for sentimental reasons, perhaps just because it looked cool. Probably a mix of both.

And it was kinda true that he didn't have many weak spots anymore, most of the really annoying stuff was done the first go-round of prank war. Oh well! Worst that could probably happen was that next time he'd be the one with the mark - especially since Papyrus would never let him hear the end of that, thanks to Mettaton explaining the concept to him. Sans would just quickly respond that there was at least one week where his little brother refused to wear anything BUT turtleneck sweaters, so there.

"You've gotta have /some/ weakness. Everybody has one." Flowey crumpled his brows, lifting a hand and pressing it against Sans' cheek. There seemed to be a long moment of thought, almost something calculating in the blond's gaze, before he gave up, flopping back down beside him. "Whatever. I'll figure out what it is later."

Later didn't come for that issue, though-- first came him actually having to get up and get dressed to go over to Toriel's. On the hunt for clothes, too, Sans' own scattered ones were amassed and tossed his way.

Before long, he was ushering the other out of the apartment, joining his side for the quick trip back to the Gaster family home.

"I told Papyrus you were staying over, so I don't think he should be /too/ worried. But, I dunno. I can never tell with him." He gave a shrug, giving him a little nudge. "Man, you're still lucky /you're/ not the one with a stupid mark on your neck. I bet you'd get an onslaught of hell from Papyrus /and/ your dad when you got in there."

Sans had simply grinned at the response, shrugging. If Sans had a weakness, he for the life couldn't--...well, no, there was one, but it'd be difficult when that weakness was the one seeking revenge in the first place (awww).

He'd gotten dressed, and now they were on the way back to his house. "yeah, i think he still might be a bit concerned since i didn't exactly text him afterwards. ah well." Sans snorted. "yeaaaaah, my dad would never let me live that down. ever. as for pap....well, he'd probably remind him that mettaton has taught him /everything/ and i'm free to ask at any time." He shuddered. "i'm glad he's happy, but sometimes i worry pap's learning a biiiiit too much from that guy. too much he doesn't entirely understand."

It was at that minute, Sans saw a weird sight out of the corner of his eye. That looked like....but he was right there? What? ....Best not to point it out. Probably nothin'. When they got to his door, he kissed him before slowly pulling away. "have fun. hehe." With that, Sans walked inside.

"hey, i'm home."

Papyrus instantly ran over, grabbing Sans into a big hug. "SO FLOWEY WAS RIGHT! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE SAFE, BROTHE--....EEEUGGGH. WHAT'S THAT SMELL?"

"what sme--...." Sans instantly froze up, realizing what he meant and turning bright red. "....oh."

"Yeeah, maybe someone ought to have Alphys have him tone it down? Or, at least, stop telling him /so much./ Maybe even nothing at all." A nod was given at his own thought. "After that one day, nothing at all sounds like the best idea. Mettaton sex ed is over, and we're all finally free. I think it'd be way better that way."

At the departure, once they'd finally gotten to the house, the kiss was taken in far better stride than any of the previous ones-- still with a hint of nervousness, sure, but far less than before.

With a remark about him having just as much fun before he went inside, Flowey was off, not catching sight of a eerily familiar face headed the opposite direction on the sidewalk, more focused on just how well he could hide the mark from his mom, and just how long that ruse would work, mostly lost in thought the entire walk back to the old, familiar home.

Inside, though, at the commotion in the other room, Gaster emerged with a cup of coffee in hand, brows lifted in interest. It only took a moment of piecing together the red face and Papyrus reeling back at a smell for him to figure out what was going on, the cup being sat aside, and a smirk creeping across his face.

'Son, if you needed to attend to some personal business, you could have just told us, instead of vanishing without a trace. Or, maybe it was far too urgent?'

"i...it wasn't....i'm..." Sans rubbed the back of his head as Papyrus nonchalantly dropped him onto the carpet, pinching his nose shut. It took Papyrus a few seconds to piece together what exactly it was, and then his eyes widened.

"....WAIT, WAIT, THE SMELL WAS FROM...THAT?" Papyrus immediately grinned. "WOWIE, SANS. I HOPE YOU BOTH AT LEAST REMEMBERED WHAT METTATON SAID AND STAYED PROTECTED..."

"...yeah, pap, we..." Sans was a gigantic mess of red blushing and defeated, going back into hoodie town. "...we remembered." Oh, they remembered, alright. They didn't want to remember, but yes, they remembered. (At least it helped one time.)

"GOOD! I'M SURE YOU TWO KIDS HAD A FUN AND CRAZY TIME."

"pap i'm older than you don't call me a kid."

"SAME DIFFERENCE." Papyrus nudged his older brother, a smirk much like his father's crossing his face, though it was pretty evident that he didn't know much of what he was even talking about. "YOU'RE A MAN NOW, SANS."

"oh my god i hate you both." Sans just began to dart upstairs at the sound of 'NYEHEHEHEHEHE'. "i'm taking a shower now."

"DON'T TAKE TOO LONG!"

"i will be in there for the rest of the day and no one will get me out."

"YOU'RE SMALL AND I CAN DRAG YOU."

"you're the worst." Sans stuck his tongue out, slipping into the bathroom and closing the door shut. Papyrus couldn't help but laugh.

Meanwhile, Toriel had been dealing with her usual - at least today she was off from school, no meetings, and Frisk was there to keep her company. Frisk herself was watching a particularly engaging episode of Sailor Moon from a box set Alphys had lent her on request, and doodling. "Today's the day Asriel's coming over, isn't it, mom?"

"Indeed it is, my child."

"...I hope we can be better friends this time..." Frisk mumbled, finishing up her doodle of a puppy.

"...." Toriel couldn't say much, settling for simply letting out a small sigh. However, when Flowey arrived and Toriel let him inside, she couldn't help but immediately get a smug grin on her face. Despite his likely efforts to try to hide it, well.... "...Really? On the first date, my child?" She was shaking from restrained laughter. "My, my, glad to see things are going well, at least...."

Okay, he had this. Maybe if he'd turn at the right angle...? No, that wouldn't work. It was way too dark to just keep turned away from. Maybe he'd keep his hand on his neck the whole time? ...No. That was stupid. It'd be even more obvious than wearing a scarf or a turtleneck would've been.

In the midst of his planning, though, the door was opened, and any semblance of a panicked, forced smile was wiped off his face.

Yep. She noticed. He knew she would, but god, he'd been hoping maybe she wouldn't by some stroke of luck.

"It wasn't-- it was just-- okay, it wasn't the first date, Mom." The protest was given, his arms folding over his chest, though the almost childish defiance crumbled as he actually got to thinking. "It was... the, uh. Second one. Technically. ...Ugh, it doesn't matter, does it?"

He came in the house, red-faced and wishing he had a jacket of any variety to retreat into. Hoodie town sounded like a prime location to be as of right now.

"Sooo, how's... your day been going?" Yeah, subject switch. Just avoid that whole mess. That'd work. Probably. (Hopefully.)

Toriel ended up shaking with even more restrained laughter. "Pff..hehehe...it's been going very well..." She shook her head. "...I can't believe this. Pffheehehehehee, my little boy's all grown up..." That was about when Frisk peeked over, getting up and darting to her mother's side.

"Hiya, big br--...are you okay...? You look like you're hurt..." Frisk tilted her head with a concerned expression as Toriel started to tear up from pushing back laughter.

"Snnrrk--pfff....he's going to be fine, my child..." Toriel bit her lip.

"How do you know, though? What is it?" Frisk asked, causing Toriel to just burst into a gigglefit. ".....What's so funny?"

The further into laughter Toriel fell, the more and more flustered Flowey got, and boy, was there regret. There was so much regret. Regret of what? He wasn't sure. Not the previous night, that was for sure. Maybe about everything else. Every decision that led up to this moment, from when he woke up.

When Frisk made her presence known, though, it sent a jolt through him, that panicked smile returning.

Oh, of /course/ she'd ask about it. It didn't help it that his mom was off to the side, losing herself to a fit of laughter that he could've gone through the answering so much easier without.

"It's, uh-- it's-- I bumped into something last night. Got a bruise from it. That's all." He lifted a hand to the mark, covering it up, shooting a look Toriel's way that was a mix of a glare and a plea for mercy. Come on. He didn't deserve this. He was a good person. (That's debatable, but still.)

"S', uh. It's not anything to worry about. I-- hey, weren't you drawing something over there? What's that?"

This is what hell was like. The first level of Flowey's personal hell has been realized.

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR EVERY WRONG DECISION YOU'VE MADE, MY CHILD, THE HELL OF EMBARRASSMENT. Toriel was just biting her tongue at this point to keep the laughter gone, and Frisk just tilted her head once more, and when her drawing was asked about, she immediately brightened up. "It's a dog! A little white one!" She darted back towards her drawing, and when she'd left them, Toriel quietly muttered to herself

"Pffhehe...can't imagine what /she'd/ have thought of this, she disliked him so much..."

Alright, great. Maybe this was the scapegoat he needed. See? Frisk was already moving up the totem of people he didn't mind as much! She was sparing him from motherly torment via a little drawing of a dog, and he couldn't ask for much more than that. There was some ascension out of his hell, and as long as things kept on this path, maybe he could avoid as many motherly jabs as possible.

Flowey did, however, catch Toriel's muttering, his brows crumpling in confusion. "...Wait, hold on just a second. She /knew/ him?"

"You don't remember?" Toriel asked, raising a brow. "She always used to make you hide or run away whenever she saw him show up, because he still had that little crush on me! Pffhehe. It was really cute...in a precocious way. She really didn't like him, though. Always tried to hit or bite him. What was it she called him? Sandy the Buttsniffer, or somesuch. Said he was a bad influence."

Though no doubt Chara had mentioned 'Sandy' more than once. Probably quite a bit as one of the people she hated the most, because he kept calling Toriel a 'hot momma'.

There was a long moment of confusion, before realization swept over Flowey's face, a grin lighting up his features. "Oh my god. /He/ was Sandy? She told me so much about him back then, I thought it was a whole different kid. ...If she knew about all this, she wouldn't have ever let me hear the end of it."

Honestly, he was still blown away by the fact that he'd never realized /Sans/ was the kid Chara hated so much. He never once got to see the horrid Sandy's face, for being shoved away "for your own safety," as she'd always put it. She really thought that this kid was going to corrupt him if he even so much as looked at him.

Well, technically, she wasn't wrong. Things as kids would've been /far/ more tense if he would've been one of the unfortunate (or, fortunate, depending on how it went) souls who found their soulmates as kids.

For the time being, though, a half-laughed out 'hold on' was given, before he took his phone out, shooting a few quick texts Sans' way.

'So, this has been really interesting so far.  
A lot's happened since I got here, I don't know about you and your business back at home.  
Basically.  
1\. Mom noticed the hickey and won't leave me alone about it. You're awful. >=(  
2\. You, apparently, hit on my mom a lot as a kid. (Guess you were always a weirdo, huh?)  
3\. My sister hated you so much for hitting on my mom that she never let me meet you. Not even once. She thought you'd ruin me as a person, or something like that.'

Meanwhile, Sans had dealt with Papyrus and his father's teasing by shelling himself off in his room and simply settling for browsing the internet via his laptop to quell boredom, until he'd gotten that series of texts. He couldn't help but laugh, honestly when he reached the realization.

'1. i said i was sorry. <3 if it helps dad realized what happened too and he's been giving me the smug look if i so much as pass by him, plus pap knows too and he's not much better  
2 & 3\. wait wait wait what oh jeez that wasn't ...you're not serious  
oh god i didn't even remember that  
now i do remember getting tackled to the ground and punched a lot for that yes  
and she was probably right i would've'

Most of what Sans remembered from that brief time was calling Toriel 'hot momma' and a tiny brunette girl releasing a shriek and decking him while biting and punching him. He never really bothered to know the girl's name, but apparently that was Chara. Who knew. Not Sans, that's who.

Toriel had taken the whole matter in stride back in the day, except for the times she had to literally pull Chara off of Sans, who immediately took it as a sign she returned feelings and continued to flirt with her unless Chara was standing directly behind her, shooting a glare at him. She was partially glad for the young girl's protectiveness - if Sans had realized his fate as far as soulmates went back then, she couldn't have imagined it would've gone well ('bleh! i don't even like boys! i love you, hot momma!' ....Well, look at you now, Sans), plus Chara would've gotten even more offended and intensified the pain. So it was good that that never happened.

Frisk was still colorblind, bless her little heart, and she only knew the dog was white from Toriel telling her so. She was almost jealous of the other people who could see colors, but whatever - she managed, though she still had no idea what the other two talked about when they mentioned 'her'. She just knew she wasn't supposed to never ever ever bring up 'her'. Ever. So she never did, and simply continued doodling.

Flowey didn't wind up answering the text, merely reading it with the faintest of smiles before returning his attention back to Toriel. The rest of the get-together didn't go much different than he'd started to expect it to-- he continuously got jabs about the hickey, and to keep them even remotely at bay, he actually took to the carpeted floor of the living room with Frisk.

Part of him felt bad for using the kid as a scapegoat to get away from his mom's jabs, sure, but at least they were spending time together, right? Even if it was a little awkward, it went pretty well, if he had to say so.

Soon enough, though, he was out of the house, bidding his mom an embarrassment-riddled goodbye before he was off. A text was shot Sans' way just earlier, something about him stopping by after the visit, mostly for the reasoning of him having nothing better to do for the rest of the evening, and the trip to the home thankfully didn't take too long.

Knocking on the door, he waited patiently, his pleasant-enough greeting falling when the door was opened and confusion was offered. Brows crumpled, he paused for a moment, before speaking up.

"...What's that look for? I said I was coming over. Did you miss the memo or something?"

"..." Sans had frozen at the door, his face twisted in confusion. "...wait, if you're out here, then who..."

"Sans! Who's at the door?" A very familiar sight - almost a mirror-image of Flowey exactly - approached, hugging Sans from behind. "You didn't tell me you were having anyone ove--" His words cut off, staring at the mirror image of himself in the doorway. ".....What the hell? Who's this freak? ....Sans, I'm scared..."

"uh. i kinda wish i knew?" Sans shrugged, looking between both of the Floweys. "...okay, i'm the one who's kinda scared now. well. not kinda. more really disturbed. neither of you have a secret long-lost twin?"

"Nuh-uh, I would've told you." The Flowey already latched around Sans commented, but paused, smiling what was obviously apparent as an incredibly eerie smile that Sans was too confused to note. "Man, though, I gotta say. Impressive job with trying to look like me, no matter what your freaky intentions are. It's obvious that I'm the real one, though, but y'know. Nice job."

"it's....not that obvious, no, i can't tell...the difference." Sans unlatched the Flowey that was latched onto him, causing a pout from the blonde.

"You can't tell me apart from him?" Flowey #2 asked, a hurt tone seeping into his voice. "You should know good and well that I'm the one who loves you more than anything....'sides, I got here first."

It was true. Flowey #2 had arrived significantly earlier than Flowey #1 - despite the naming order. He'd been standing outside of Sans's home, a cheerful smile on his face when Sans had walked outside, and Sans had immediately snorted and hugged him because dork, you know you can come inside anytime you want, not just stand there. From there, he'd been pleasantly snuggled up to Sans, a cute smile on his face as he'd nearly purred when he'd been held close and given a kiss - which was a bit weird, but okay. Especially since Papyrus and his father had still been around at that point and usually that much PDA was probably not something Sans expected.

But Flowey #2 had sure left one hell of a first impression, considering the fact that he'd /giggled/, even, when Sans wrapped his arm around him. On top of when they'd left, purring that his 'big, stroooong, darling' had shown him such a good time last night, and he could definitely look forward to more of that soon, right? Sans had stuttered out a response along the lines of '...y-yes! very yes!...ha...ha...' before realizing what had just happened and being mildly confused.

And now there were two Floweys and Sans was even more confused.

"So, Sans? Get rid of this loser." Flowey #2 said dismissively, with a wave of his hand. "And get it over with soon. Maybe I'll...reward you then, 'kay, darling~?" EEEEYUP THAT WAS A HAND ON SANS'S BUTT OH JEEZ SANS WAS NOW EVEN MORE HORRIBLY CONFUSED.

"i, uh...um...." Sans looked between the two, his mind having utterly gone blank. "...err..."

To say Flowey looked as confused as Sans did might've been the understatement of the century. There was some horror in that gaze, too, as he made eye contact with... himself. It was as though he was looking in a slightly-off mirror.

At the remarks, though, Flowey's lips curled into a sneer, frustration written all over his face. "/Freak?/ Listen, weirdo, I'm not going anywhere. This is /my/ boyfriend's house, contrary to whatever deranged thoughts you've got going on in there."

There was a tense pause, and slowly but surely, Flowey was falling into panic. Nope. This wasn't right. No part of this was right at all.

He was literally on the verge of being replaced by a generic knock-off.

"Sans, come on, you're not serious, right?" A smile ridden with bewilderment and a hint of fear was tossed his way, a wide gesture being made to Flowey #2, his face falling to something akin to near-outrage. "He doesn't even /sound/ like me! Darling? The one who loves you more than anything? That's some Mettaton-brand rambling right there!"

In any other situation, Sans would've grinned a mile wide at the fact that there was no hesitance in the whole boyfriend thing, but in this one, he was caught in the middle of confusion.

Flowey #2 on the other hand, seemed to hesitate for a second before realizing that the jig was almost up, and he /had/ to try harder.

"Of course I don't sound like you." Flowey #2 sneered. "Because I'm the real one. It's almost hilarious to see you try so hard, though. And Sans knows that I'm the real one, right?" "

....you do kinda sound weird." Sans agreed, trying his best to shrink away from Flowey #2. "i'm gonna be honest and say that the one that just showed up is really having a better chance--"

"Don't tell me you're falling for that! Sans, you're not that stupid. You're one of the few people that isn't, and I know that. I don't know what you're thinking will happen if you replace me with him, but I don't want you to get hurt, okay?" Flowey #2 ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. "...Please don't leave me. I...I can't take being alone again..."

"Yeah, he's not stupid, which is why he's hopefully not falling for... whatever this is. I don't actually know what /this/ is." He folded his arms across his chest, the pity-party this phony was trying to throw only sending him further and further into his frustrations.

Would it be frowned upon if he decked what looked like his own face? Because he was getting really, /really/ close to that.

"What're you even trying to get from all this?" Disbelief was written all over his tone, a hand moving to his hip. "You can't live /my/ life while I'm still here. Guess you've got freak /and/ idiot tacked onto your list of first impressions. If that's what you were shooting for, good job, buddy!"

The second Flowey hesitated, but quickly shifted from sadness to frustration. "First of all, it's /my/ life, dumbass." Flowey #2 snapped. "You're the real idiot to think that just showing up here and trying to--trying to act like /me/ is somehow going to work out. Because it's not."

"......." Sans had definitely shrunk away from this whole mess, more terrified that whoever this fake was....he knew quite a bit that no one should've known. Down to even minor details. The blemish on the neck? Looked the same. The voice? Sounded functionally identical. Hell, he even knew minor details from conversations, since he'd mentioned 'giving up on that whole revenge thing...for a while'. It was...unnerving, to say the least. And then he had an idea. "..." Reaching towards Flowey #2's neck, he ran a thumb across what should've been the mark.

He looked at his hand.

There was now a black-and-blue tint on it. It was makeup. "....oh, crap."

".........." There was a brief silence for a while, as it was likely all three were processing the fact that it was for certain which one was real with that kind of evidence. ".......Fine. Ya got me. Buuuut it'll take more than that to make me give up on you!" Flowey #2's face rose into the smug grin that had been seen so many times before, kissing Sans on the cheek. "You'll be mine soon enough." With that, he made a break for it, despite Sans' attempt to take him down--nope. No such luck.

Sans was a bit frozen at this point anyway, looking absolutely disgusted and horrified. Nope. Nuh-uh. Nope.

Flowey had been on the verge of snapping back, fists clenching where they'd dropped back to his sides, but the moment he opened his mouth, Sans was reaching his hand up. The confusing motion effectively shut the real Flowey up, watching with the utmost puzzled look when he brushed his finger across the other's neck.

Confusion shifted to something more bewildered, his stomach tensing at the sight.

That was, without a doubt, makeup. The mark was entirely faked. How this guy knew about the mark, too, he had no idea.

"Wh-- What? Hold on--" Flowey stumbled over himself, unable to snag the imposter as he made a bolt for it. "You're-- If you come back here, it won't be pretty! You hear me?"

The fruitless, mostly-panicked yelling was tossed his way, Flowey falling silent once he was gone and out of sight. He was stuck there for a long few moments, more so for what felt like an eternity, before he finally shifted his attention back to Sans, lifting his hands up to his face and looking him over.

"Holy shit. Oh my god. Are you alright? Did you-- do you have /any/ idea who that guy was?"

Sans was still paralyzed in fear for a few seconds, before shaking his head. "like i said, i thought it was you. he knew everything, even if he did a shit job and slipped up with being overly-gushy...but i don't know who the hell he really was. and he was here for like an hour before...holy shit..." He released a long sigh. "...hopefully he never comes back, but....it's like he'd seen /everything./"

The thought that that...whoever he was was watching everything that'd happened. Everything that they did. Everything....it was terrifying. That settled in for a few moments before his usual lazy grin took form. "....left a hell of an impression on pap and dad, though. good luck living that shit down."

........  
He was scared, and he hated being scared. As long as whoever that was didn't hurt....shit. It was haunting, to say the least. He had to just....not worry about it, but....ugh. Wow. Why did all the weird shit always have to happen to /them/?

(It's because you're in a roleplay, Sans.)

Flowey couldn't tell if that was a relief, or something that set deeper fear into him. That guy knew /everything?/ How, though? Any time he'd spent with Sans, he'd been /sure/ that they were either alone, or in the company of the friends he was aware was there. Had the fake Flowey been watching them? If so, for how long?

It was a question that he didn't particularly know the answer to, and didn't seek out an answer for for the time being.

"Oh, god. Hopefully they'll believe us about what happened." He let out an annoyed huff, taking a nervous glance back before stepping into the home. "I mean... we probably ought to have them on the look-out too, right? I don't want that guy making anyone /else/ think he's me. That's... augh. It's gross. It's really gross."

A face was made, before he crumpled, making his way over to the couch and flopping back on it with a sigh. "This is gonna be hell, isn't it? ...You think I should just, I dunno. Change up appearances, take a different name, and keep him from finding out? Wouldn't be the first time I did it, I guess."

"well, pap at least seemed suspicious of him." Sans shrugged, closing the door, and then joined his boyfriend on the couch. "they'll probably buy the fact that weird shit tends to happen regularly to us. and nah. i like ya the way ya are...besides...he'd probably realize and just do the same thing. he seems...creepily obsessed with me in particular." He grimaced, putting a disgusted hand where the fake had kissed him on the cheek. "i'm the one who should probably change everything. guh."

He was going to be scared that that freak was going to just one day snap and replace Flowey entirely, and no one would know except him, and that was the most scary idea of all. Or the impostor could hurt his friends...anyone....he knows everything. Sans was starting to feel sick at the thought. For one, no, he wasn't going to lose the second-most important person to him to a shitty knockoff, and for two, he hated the idea of Papyrus also realizing what happened and being afraid. God...damn...it.

Yep. He definitely felt sick now. This was horrible. He'd long since stopped trying to hide it, having gone almost entirely bone-white (teehee) pale.

Without a doubt, this was something that Flowey hadn't felt in a long time. There was pure worry for Sans, that was obvious-- but, he was still terrified for /himself/ at that. If this guy was so hellbent on separating the two, what would happen to either of them? What lengths would he go to to live out whatever fantasy he'd gotten stuck on? Would they be violent?

Flowey didn't know, and it was horrifying.

"The way /I/ am is the way /he/ is, though." The protest was given half-heartedly, before a hand was tentatively taken. He had no way of telling if that was too affectionate after what'd happened, but he left it just loose enough for Sans to pull away if he needed to. The touch was, admittedly, something he was craving pretty badly right now, though.

He needed something solid to hold onto, something to help calm him down. After all, Sans probably had more of a reason to be terrified, didn't he? He needed to get it together, damn it. He needed to be the supportive one this time around.

"I'm... sure it'll be okay. After a while. Maybe he'll... drop it?" Not likely, but hey. He didn't think he could be blamed for wishful thinking.

Sans let out a shaky sigh, snuggling up to him - despite the fear, knowing that this was the real one made him feel...more stable and safe. "...'s not the same....and yeah, i hope so." He hated being afraid, goddammit. This was twice in a row he'd shown that he wasn't the stable, constantly-smiling slacker everyone thought of him as, and...without a doubt, it was ruining him. Ugh. Weird shit always had to happen to them. He /had/ to be the one to have the crazy obsessive stalker. Couldn't it have been some other unfortunate person? Literally anyone else?

But no. This was weird shit central. "...shit, i'm sorry, if it wasn't for me, shit like this would've never happened to you." On top of the fact that he did have a guilt complex a mile wide and always had.  
Welp.  
Everything sucks but he's used to that.

The snuggling wasn't even remotely protested, and was met with Flowey dropping the taken hand in favor of wrapping his arms around him instead. This was... better. It was a wordless way he could hopefully get Sans to calm down. Maybe even enlist Papyrus later in finding some way to take their minds off it, if even for a little while. After all, if anyone needed a break, it was Sans.

When Sans got to speaking back up, though, he couldn't help but look puzzled. Somehow, he got to the conclusion that it was /his/ fault that weirdo had taken to them.

"This isn't your fault, though-- it'd probably happen, even if I wasn't around. I wouldn't want you dealing with that freak on your own, anyways. Who knows what would happen." It was a grim thought, one that he shook from his mind as quickly as he could. "...We'll get it figured out, alright? It'll get sorted out."

"...if you say so." Sans sighed, looking tired already, despite not having done much all day. Just the thought that this was happening was...it was enough to set him on edge. But he was more calm now that it was hopefully over, at least for a little while. Maybe it wouldn't come back to haunt them. Maybe that was just all going to be some stupid thing and maybe the freak would get arrested or something before anything else happened.

It was unlikely. But possible. Papyrus would tell him that it would definitely happen because he'd apprehend the criminal and everyone would adore him for it, and then he'd make sure everyone was happy, especially Sans. He deserved it, he'd say. For what, Sans would ask. He'd done nothing. He was a walking contradiction - he worked hard, yet constantly fell asleep and slacked off. He said that he was smart, yet not smart enough to realize the difference between one person and another.

Sometimes he asked what the point of it all was and no one could give a concrete answer to that opinion that wouldn't be clouded by lies and only half-truths at best. He was just a thing that existed to drag down everyone else around him. The worst thing to happen to most, a disappointment at best.

So the silence was hollow for a while. "...just...i don't know why you still care, but...thank you. i love you."

He meant it, meant every word, but he still feared.

Flowey, honestly, wasn't sure what to say. The silence hung heavier than it'd ever had before, Sans looked practically exhausted to the point of defeat, and he couldn't think of a single thing to do about it. It wasn't like he was Undyne, brimming with positivity and pep-talks to no end.

He wasn't nearly as bad-off as Sans was, not by a long shot. When the end of the day came around, he could find a point in things. Even if the point was some made-up, far fetched ideals for something, a desire for success that wasn't within his grasp and probably never would be, he could hold onto it and not allow himself to be weighed down by too much of anything. Not people, not his own shortcomings, not a single care tossed to anything outside of what he was striving for.

Or... before, that was how things worked, wasn't it? Things weren't that simple anymore. It was still something he was reevaluating, if he was honest.

"...Love you too." There was a fleeting pause, before Sans was held closer, a breath escaping him. "I... care about you a lot, okay? I'm not gonna stop caring any time soon, either. Especially not over some weirdo that's trying to take my place."

The why went unanswered, but for one who was /just now/ starting to have legitimate cares about other people, he'd have to think on it to get a decent answer. That didn't mean he meant his words any less-- it was just something he'd have to think on to get his words to come out how he wanted them to, was all.

Being held closely and being reassured that yes, the feelings were definitely mutual was enough to put Sans a bit more at ease. "ok. i'll trust you on that." Please don't let me down, he hoped. At least it was enough to put a bit of a smile on his face, however weak it was.

Still, he managed to lean up a bit and kiss him, and he knew that yeah, okay, even if they had to fight through this set of bullshit...it'd be worth it in the end. Most definitely. It was about at that point he got a text -

'BROTHER! DAD AND I ARE ABOUT TO COME HOME, ARE YOU AND FLOWEY STILL DOING OKAY?  
HE SEEMED A BIT OFF. WAS HE SICK?'

'...bro i don't know how to tell you this but we'll explain it when you get here, ok?'

'...NOTHING'S BAD BETWEEN YOU TWO, RIGHT?'

'nono not at all  
it's just complicated  
it's gonna take a bit to explain'

'OKAY...'

Sans sighed. "...we're gonna have to explain all of this shit to 'em when they get here. fun." Bluh. He just snuggled back into his boyfriend, letting out a yawn.

Well, that was a good sign, at least. The kiss was returned, the weak smile was reciprocated, and Sans had gotten a text. Which, funny enough, left Flowey with a moment to himself to mull over what exactly was said to him.

It'd been an unsaid thing before, the trust that'd been tentatively given, more shown the night before than any other time.

But, Sans actually trusted him. /Someone/ trusted him.

It was something he'd probably be caught up in thinking about later, when he had more time to himself, but that was beside the point for right now.

The point was that they were going to make it through this, no matter how hellish it was.

"How do you think they're gonna take it?" He glanced down to him, before leaning his head against the other's, a sigh of his own coming out as he finally eased up for the first time since the house's door had opened for him. He was still a little on edge, but it was little enough that he felt like he could /actually/ breathe easily.

A pause went by, before he found himself with the ghost of a smirk on his lips, taking on a pseudo-joking tone. "...I bet it'd be over with by this week if we told Undyne about it."

"welp. chances are, pap will tell undyne, and they'll both be on the watch. which could go incredibly well or incredibly poorly, depending on how dramatic they get into it. might be solved in a few days, actually. 've got faith in 'em." Sans snickered.

"but hey, i think both pap and my dad will be glad that that guy was not you, considering how he acted....i don't think they've ever been more uncomfortable around someone in their lives. let's just say that me being called 'stroooong' and 'handsome' was not even the half of it." It wasn't. Fake Flowey was perhaps the first human being Sans had ever met that could legitimately make a face resembling the '^_^' emoticon. "so yeah. you've got that to live down now. hehehehe."

Well, at least it'd gotten his mind off the more depressing aspects of this whole mess.

 


End file.
